Long-time readers of this blog know that one of my favorite local folk heroes is a guy named Melvin Dummar, the blue-collar ne’er-do-well who has claimed for decades that he once gave a lift on a frigid night to a scruffy old man who later turned out to be Howard Hughes. If you’ll recall, Dummar was named as a beneficiary in the infamous “Mormon Will,” which was determined by a 1978 probate court to have been a fraud. Dummar stuck by his story over the years, however, and in 2006, following the publication of a book that backed up his claims and built a convincing case for how the probate trial may have been rigged against him, he tried again to recover the share of Hughes’ fabulous fortune he believes he was promised. He filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court here in Salt Lake, only to have the suit dismissed in 2007 by a judge who sided with the ’78 verdict. Dummar is nothing if not tenacious, though, so he filed an appeal…

And this afternoon he lost yet again when the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver upheld the ’07 dismissal of his suit. I’m ashamed to admit I don’t know much about the court system, but I think he’s probably finished at this point. No more appeals, no way forward.

I’ve said many times before that I’m inclined to believe Dummar’s story — what can I say, I’m a romantic who likes a good story, and I like it even better when the story ends with the little guy winning — so I can’t help but feel sorry for him. Assuming he’s on the level, it must have been hell for him to have lived half his life knowing that a simple act of kindness put him within inches of the biggest brass ring there’s ever been — Hughes was worth billions, and the Mormon Will promised Melvin 1/16th of that, more than enough to turn any average joe into Daddy Warbucks — but forces entirely beyond his control ripped it all away from him. To then compound that loss with the knowledge that much of the public thinks he’s a liar… it’s tragic, really.

Melvin, buddy, if by some chance you ever stumble across my little scribblings here, drop me a line, will you? I can’t do much to help you, but I’d love to buy you a cold one and lend a sympathetic ear…