ST. PETERSBURG, FL (RNN) – A Florida lawyer is suing Marriott International and a valet parking service after he says a valet let another man drive off with his $300,000 car without ever showing a valet ticket.
Lawyer Skip Fowler claims he spent $10,000 in repairs after his Ferrari was stolen and driven incorrectly, WESH reports. He says this diminished the value of the $300,000 car.
In July, police arrested 28-year-old Levi Miles and 24-year-old passenger Chloe Rimmer when they were pulled over in Fowler’s Ferrari because the taillights weren’t working.
An officer noted Miles had “difficulty” driving the car, according to The Tampa Bay Times, and there were 2 grams of cocaine in the center console.
The 28-year-old told police he knew the car wasn’t his but planned to return it after a few hours, The Tampa Bay Times reports. He simply wanted to impress Rimmer, whom he had only recently met.
Miles insisted he did not steal the car, the police report says, because the keys were given to him by a valet at the Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club, where Fowler was staying.
Police say Miles implied to the valet that the car was his, telling him the ticket was inside, and acted “impatient" and "demanding," according to The Tampa Bay Times.
The valet handed over the keys and stopped paying attention after he "figured he was not getting a tip,” police say.
Miles faces charges of grand theft of more than $100,000, possession of cocaine and habitually driving with a suspended or revoked license.
Rimmer faces a charge of marijuana possession after police say they found a gram of it in her purse.
Fowler’s lawsuit claims Marriott, the hotel’s parent company, and the valet service are responsible for negligence and gross negligence.
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