Jim Slemons

Jim Slemons Imports, ranked the nation's eighth largest auto dealer with $110.2 million in revenue last year, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition Friday as part of a plan to stabilize its sagging finances while it seeks a buyer. Malcolm McCassy, Slemons' general manager, said Slemons is seeking at least $15 million for the Mercedes-Benz franchise and that there are "at least four written offers on the table that we are considering."

He was the quintessential Newport Beach entrepreneur: owner of a flourishing Mercedes-Benz empire and a jet-setter who married six times, kept an 83-foot yacht at Newport Harbor and boasted a string of showplace homes. Jim Slemons, whose name defined success in Orange County in the 1980s, told a Superior Court jury this year that any shred of the $87-million fortune he had amassed by 1988 was gone.

He was the quintessential Newport Beach entrepreneur: owner of a flourishing Mercedes-Benz empire and a jet-setter who married six times, kept an 83-foot yacht at Newport Harbor and boasted a string of showplace homes. Jim Slemons, whose name defined success in Orange County in the 1980s, told a Superior Court jury this year that any shred of the $87-million fortune he had amassed by 1988 was gone.

Former Newport Beach automobile dealer Jim Slemons has lost a $1.2-million judgment to an advertising executive who sold Slemons his stock in a now-defunct Orange County commuter airline. Roger C. Riddell, founder and former chairman of the parent company of Resort Commuter Airlines, sued Slemons in Superior Court for a $1.2-million debt in Riddell's name that Slemons had promised to pay as a part of a 1987 stock transaction. Riddell's attorney, Gary A.

Former Newport Beach automobile dealer Jim Slemons has lost a $1.2-million judgment to an advertising executive who sold Slemons his stock in a now-defunct Orange County commuter airline. Roger C. Riddell, founder and former chairman of the parent company of Resort Commuter Airlines, sued Slemons in Superior Court for a $1.2-million debt in Riddell's name that Slemons had promised to pay as a part of a 1987 stock transaction. Riddell's attorney, Gary A.

Out of the Business: Newport Beach socialite-car dealer Jim Slemons, who once owned seven auto franchises, including one of the nation's largest Mercedes-Benz dealerships, is officially out of the car business in Southern California. Slemons sold his last remaining Southland dealership in April to his former general manager, Malcolm McCassey, and McCassey's silent partner, former Los Angeles banker Louis Cherry.

The financial problems plaguing Mercedes-Benz dealer James B. Slemons, once one of this beachside city's most flamboyant big spenders, appear to be mounting.

A former salesman for Jim Slemons Imports, one of the largest new-car dealers in the country, alleged in a suit filed Wednesday that the company has been selling customer trade-ins to other dealers without paying off the original lenders. If true, that would violate the state vehicle code and could jeopardize the dealership's license.

The financial empire of Newport Beach auto dealer and socialite James Burdick Slemons III has been hit hard by the recession and his own lavish lifestyle, and Slemons says he is moving quickly to reduce his operations to conserve cash. Acknowledging that there has been a veritable firestorm of rumors about his financial situation in recent weeks, the high-profile Mercedes-Benz dealer said in a recent interview that his businesses are not on the verge of collapse.

"Washington slept here." --common untruth "The rich are different." --common truth Is there such a thing in Orange County today as a recession-proof house? Someplace you can sell with no sweat without budging an inch on the asking price? The sort of casa very grande that people will come sprinting out of the blocks to post offers on? "Sure," you might say. "What about those behemoth custom joints with amenities such as indoor polo fields and freight elevators?

Out of the Business: Newport Beach socialite-car dealer Jim Slemons, who once owned seven auto franchises, including one of the nation's largest Mercedes-Benz dealerships, is officially out of the car business in Southern California. Slemons sold his last remaining Southland dealership in April to his former general manager, Malcolm McCassey, and McCassey's silent partner, former Los Angeles banker Louis Cherry.

"Washington slept here." --common untruth "The rich are different." --common truth Is there such a thing in Orange County today as a recession-proof house? Someplace you can sell with no sweat without budging an inch on the asking price? The sort of casa very grande that people will come sprinting out of the blocks to post offers on? "Sure," you might say. "What about those behemoth custom joints with amenities such as indoor polo fields and freight elevators?

James B. Slemons, the financially ailing car dealer who recently lost his landmark Mercedes-Benz dealership in bankruptcy, has placed another business in bankruptcy to prevent one of his luxury residences in Orange County from being sold today at a foreclosure sale. Slemons Investments, a firm that owns the 10,000-square-foot home in Newport Beach's exclusive Harbor Ridge community, on Thursday filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Act. The filing in U.S.

Mercedes-Benz of North America, trying to stave off the collapse of one of its premier dealerships, is negotiating a debt repayment plan with unsecured creditors of bankrupt Jim Slemons Imports. As a result, Slemons Imports' chief secured creditor, Tokai Credit Corp., on late Monday gave the luxury car dealership a 24-hour extension of its so-called flooring loan--the credit line used to pay for the cars Slemons buys from Mercedes-Benz for resale.

The financial problems plaguing Mercedes-Benz dealer James B. Slemons, once one of this beachside city's most flamboyant big spenders, appear to be mounting.

Jim Slemons Imports, ranked the nation's eighth largest auto dealer with $110.2 million in revenue last year, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition Friday as part of a plan to stabilize its sagging finances while it seeks a buyer. Malcolm McCassy, Slemons' general manager, said Slemons is seeking at least $15 million for the Mercedes-Benz franchise and that there are "at least four written offers on the table that we are considering."

James B. Slemons, the financially ailing car dealer who recently lost his landmark Mercedes-Benz dealership in bankruptcy, has placed another business in bankruptcy to prevent one of his luxury residences in Orange County from being sold today at a foreclosure sale. Slemons Investments, a firm that owns the 10,000-square-foot home in Newport Beach's exclusive Harbor Ridge community, on Thursday filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Act. The filing in U.S.

You won't find Jim Slemons talking about his dog Spot. He is not even close to being the best-known car dealer in Southern California. But what Slemons lacks in name recognition, he makes up in sales. His flagship dealership, Jim Slemons Imports in Newport Beach, sold 1,870 new and used Mercedes-Benz cars in 1987. That, Slemons says, ranks him among the "top three or four" Mercedes dealers in the United States. And that's only the beginning.

It's a car buyer's worst nightmare and it has left Jerry McClellan and several other customers of a prominent Orange County car dealer in a state of angry bewilderment. McClellan bought a new car from Jim Slemons Acura in early April and traded in a leased Acura as part of the deal.

The financial empire of Newport Beach auto dealer and socialite James Burdick Slemons III has been hit hard by the recession and his own lavish lifestyle, and Slemons says he is moving quickly to reduce his operations to conserve cash. Acknowledging that there has been a veritable firestorm of rumors about his financial situation in recent weeks, the high-profile Mercedes-Benz dealer said in a recent interview that his businesses are not on the verge of collapse.