Friends of a Santa Monica man, Carlos Rivera, rented him a Ferrari F355 for his 40th birthday. Unfortunately for him, Rivera ended up with a bill.
The $2,500, two-day rental, claimed Beverly Hills Rent-A-Car in court, had new damages to the sports car that exceeded $1,000, which the rental car agency held Rivera responsible for.
Rivera, an auto body repairman who used the car to zip out to Vegas, celebrate and zoom back in time for a trip to Cabo San Lucas, told the court he hadn’t caused the alleged damages.
“That’s my living. That’s what I do. I recondition cars,” explained Rivera. “From one to 10, this car was a seven.”
But a representative from the exclusive Beverly Hills car shop claimed the car “had a lot of new damage” when it was returned and said Rivera “refused to cooperate.”
The representative was seeking $5,000, the maximum allowable amount in small claims court, saying the damages kept them from renting the car to other customers.
Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Pro Tem Jane Dubovy awarded Beverly Hills Rent-A-Car $1,097, plus court costs. She denied the agency’s request for reimbursement for missed rental opportunities, saying they failed to prove there was a specific demand for the sports car. House demolished before family left
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 7, 2002. Read the original PDF.