When last we encountered Melvin Dummar, the Utah native who claims to have once given Howard Hughes a ride and that he’s owed a share of the Hughes fortune, his last-ditch lawsuit — which alleged that new-found evidence showed the original 1978 probate trial was tainted by false testimony — had been thrown out by the U.S. District Court in Salt Lake. I figured that would be the last we’d hear of old Mel until the time came for an obit.

Looks like I was wrong. Melvin has now filed a new lawsuit in Nevada, repeating the same claims as last year’s failed Utah suit. As I’ve said before, I’m inclined to believe Melvin’s story, both because it seems plausible based on what I know about Howard, and also because it’s just such a damn good story. Such an American story, really, the tall tale that has the ring of truth, of two self-made (or, in Melvin’s case, self-defeating) men who meet by chance in the wide open Western deserts.
I wish him luck with this new suit, although I remain pessimistic about his chances of actually getting anything…