Ford Motor Company v. John Cena · E.D. Mich. 2:17-cv-13876 · filed 30 Nov 2017

The actual lawsuit. Every claim, marked.

Ford's 18-page complaint over the 2017 Ford GT, as filed. Below, every line from our breakdown is highlighted on its real page and paragraph. Tap any line to open the full page.

Download the PDF (18 pages)Would Ford pick you?

Everything in a complaint is one side's allegation. Cena's lawyers argued the dealer's final sales contract never contained the resale clause. In June 2018 the case settled for an undisclosed sum; Cena apologized and, per his law firm's statement, Ford would donate the proceeds to charity. No court ruled on the claims.

The 1-page map

Claim from the video, then the exact lines it comes from.

Ford sued John Cena for selling his own $463,000 car.

Complaint page 2, ¶1: Cena flipped his vehicle shortly after taking delivery of it, despite his agreement

Page 2 of 18 · ¶1 · Payments: $230,000 + $233,376.50 = $463,376.50 (¶25).

Complaint page 9, ¶25: first payment of $230,000 for the vehicle. / second, final payment of $233,376.50

Page 9 of 18 · ¶25

You couldn't just buy one.

Complaint page 5, ¶11: Thousands of individuals applied for the

Page 5 of 18 · ¶11 · Ford's own count (May 2016): 6,506 completed applications for the first 500 cars.

Ford asked for car collections, influence ...

Complaint page 5, ¶13: their car collections, their public influence,

Page 5 of 18 · ¶13

... even videos.

Complaint page 6, ¶13: post links to videos and photographs

Page 6 of 18 · ¶13

Not in the video: what Cena's application promised.

Complaint page 7, ¶15: most certainly use every vehicle of communication to let the world know about the car,

Page 7 of 18 · ¶15

Complaint page 7, ¶17: “over 50 million unique social voices on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.”

Page 7 of 18 · ¶17

He signed to keep it 24 months ...

Complaint page 9, ¶24: agree not to sell the vehicle within the first 24 months of delivery.”

Page 9 of 18 · ¶24 · The order confirmation he signed on 28 Jan 2017 (Exhibit 3).

... and paid $230,000 before it was built.

Complaint page 9, ¶25: first payment of $230,000 for the vehicle. / This payment had to be made before the vehicle would be built.

Page 9 of 18 · ¶25

Delivered September 2017.

Complaint page 9, ¶26: On or about September 23, 2017, the vehicle was delivered

Page 9 of 18 · ¶26

Within weeks, Ford says, he sold it.

Complaint page 9, ¶27: Ford learned that Mr. Cena had sold / his 2017 Ford GT, despite having just taken possession of it a few weeks earlier.

Page 9 of 18 · ¶27

Ford wasn't selling a car. It was picking who gets seen in one.

Complaint page 4, ¶10: those individuals who will be influencers and ambassadors of the vehicle and the Ford brand, / reselling, flipping, or brokering the vehicle, or for price speculation.

Page 4 of 18 · ¶10 · Our take. This is the paragraph it comes from.

Ford claims it lost brand value ...

Complaint page 2, ¶1: loss of brand value, ambassador activity, and customer goodwill

Page 2 of 18 · ¶1

... and he profited above sticker.

Complaint page 13, ¶42: improperly received a profit from his breach under the unlawful re-sale above / MSRP.

Page 13 of 18 · ¶42 · "Upon information and belief": an allegation, never tested in court.

Not in the video: Ford offered to buy it back at his price.

Complaint page 10, ¶31: Ford was prepared to facilitate a buyback of the vehicle at the

Page 10 of 18 · ¶31

Not in the video: his text to Ford, Oct 2017.

Complaint page 10, ¶29: My sincerest apologies.”

Page 10 of 18 · ¶29

Outside the complaint: 6,506 applications for the first 500 cars (Ford press release via Business Wire, 12 May 2016) · settlement and apology (Jalopnik, 18 Jun 2018) · the dealer-contract defence (The Drive, Apr 2018). The PDF is the court's public record (CourtListener RECAP).

Would Ford sell you a GT?

60 seconds. Built from the criteria the complaint lists (¶11, ¶13, ¶24-25). A game, not Ford's real scoring, which was never published.

Application window: 60 s

6,506 people applied for the first 500 cars. Ready?