Melvin Dummar Is Back, Taking Another Shot At the Howard Hughes Estate

The Central Scrutinizer

Penultimate Amazing
The Central Scrutinizer
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115016624912978618-search.html?KEYWORDS=dummar&COLLECTION=wsjie/6month

Melvin Dummar had long since given up on getting a share of the late billionaire Howard Hughes's fortune. And for good reason: In 1978, Mr. Dummar became a national joke when a Las Vegas jury ruled that the basis for his claim -- a handwritten will that surfaced mysteriously -- was fake.
"I've never really gotten over it," Mr. Dummar says. "For 30 years, everybody just laughed at me and treated me like some kind of criminal, a forger. Until a few months ago, I thought it was a lost cause."
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But now Mr. Dummar is back, seeking another day in court and what he considers his rightful share of Mr. Hughes's estate. In a lawsuit filed yesterday, Mr. Dummar claims to have new evidence and a compelling new witness: a pilot who says he flew the late Mr. Hughes to a brothel near where Mr. Dummar claims he happened on to him.
With the suit filed yesterday in federal district court in Salt Lake City, Mr. Dummar began another chapter in one of the wildest estate battles in U.S. history.
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Interesting. So is he a con-man trying to make a buck, or could he be telling the truth? ;)
 
For those who didn't click the link, Billy's post linked to a failed polygraph test.

Ever since the Skeptical Inquirer ran a piece about polygraphs, I've been on the list of those people who think they should be banned, as junk pseudoscience.

I hope there really is new evidence. I was rooting for Melvin, and the stuff I read seemed to present a fairly reasonable case. Of course, it's a much more interesting story if it might be true, so the press isn't going to run a real story on it if the evidence is clear that this is a halfwitted scheme.
 
I followed the case at the time, but have pretty much forgotten all the details.

One thing that I do remember was that Dummar's claim spawned a lot of other similar claims, but when the dust settled Dummar's claim was the only one left that wasn't an obvious fraud.

I do have a legal question about this: After a civil court has decided a case is it possible to bring the same case again if substantial new evidence surfaces? Does this vary from state to state?
 
varwoche said:
Melvin and Howard ... an excellent movie by Jonathan Demme.
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This kinda reminds me of the Second City TV show (Canada circa 70's) that spoofed it in a skit called "Howard and the Melvins". It showed Howard Hughes and 3 Melvins driving around in a truck saying (and singing) silly things. Classic Second City ....

Charlie (I'm Howard Hughes' son, gimme money) Monoxide
 
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