Laguna Couple Sue Car Maker DeLorean : Fraud in Sale of Movie Rights to His Life Story Alleged in $1-Million Action to Recover Expenses

Former auto maker John Z. DeLorean was sued Thursday by a Laguna Beach couple who accused him of fraud in the sale of movie rights to his life story.

DeLorean, acquitted of drug conspiracy and swindling in two celebrated criminal trials, was burdened with legal costs when he wrote and published an autobiography between those trials. In 1985, a group announced that it hoped to raise $30 million to finance a film based on the book.

Dr. Craig Lowe and his wife, Lesley, allege in a $1-million civil suit filed Thursday that they paid $125,000 for a partial interest in those movie rights.

The Lowes’ suit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, also names two firms and six other individuals and accuses all the defendants of misrepresentation and the illegal sales of unlicensed securities in the so-far unsuccessful project.

Michael G. Dawe, the couple’s attorney, said DeLorean met personally with the Lowes to talk about the project in 1985.

To “lull” the Lowes into investing, DeLorean and others promised the couple a “full return,” said there was no risk of losing their money and represented “that the defendants were capable of successfully syndicating movie rights,” the suit says.

But since Lowes’ investment in April, 1985, none of the promises have come true, Dawe said.

“The bottom line is what my client was told didn’t come to pass, and he is now out $125,000,” Dawe said. “We’re told everything’s going to be OK. We’d be the happiest people in the world if that’s the way it works out.

“But in the meantime, to protect my client’s interest, we felt the need to file this lawsuit.”

Attempts to reach DeLorean through one of his attorneys were unsuccessful. The Lowes also could not be reached for comment late Thursday.

The flamboyant, silver-haired DeLorean quit his job as a top GM executive in 1975 to produce his own, futuristic-looking sports coupe. The project went sour after the British government pulled out as an investor.

In 1984, a jury in Los Angeles acquitted DeLorean of drug trafficking charges after a sensational trial in which prosecutors contended DeLorean had tried to smuggle $24 million worth of cocaine into the country to raise cash for his foundering car firm.

In December, jurors in Detroit acquitted DeLorean again, this time of fraud and racketeering charges involving allegations of investors being swindled in the defunct car company, who included many celebrities.

DeLorean became a self-described born-again Christian while awaiting trial.

Many of those involved at the time of the trials were named Thursday in the Lowes’ lawsuit, including Orange County lawyers Gary C. Wykidal and David H. Tedder; DeLorean’s agent Wayne Coombs; Sun Coast Investments Inc., identified as a California firm, and Ephesians 6:12 Inc., a firm that promoters said DeLorean headed two years ago.

The Lowes were told that a limited partnership would be formed to handle their investment in syndication of the movie rights. But no partnership was ever formed, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also alleged that the group issued securities in exchange for the $125,000 investment, which were “unregistered and unqualified,” in violation of state and federal law.

When Lowe became worried about delays, he was repeatedly reassured that the project was progressing. The claims were false and “part of the conspiracy to conceal from (Lowe) the true facts in order to lull (Lowe) into a false sense of security,” the suit alleges.

The suit seeks a court order directing a full accounting of the project, disclosure of all books and records and freezing existing assets.

The Lowes ask for a return of their original $125,000 investment, plus $1 million in punitive damages.