[Archive]

Posted By: warshawlaw

including every grading service out there and every big-time dealer and auction house. Be sure to send each a scan or printout of the item in question.

The main issue here is void versus voidable title. A thief has void title--he cannot every pass on a stolen item legitimately. Someone who finds an item has voidable title, at worst. There is a doctrine of law, called the bona fide purchaser rule, that permits a person with voidable title to convey an item to a buyer, who is then permitted to keep the item if he is a truly innocent buyer who paid fair value for the item. This principle is included in every state's common law jurisprudence or in the version of the Uniform Commercial Code it has adopted. So, if someone at PSA stole the card and tried to sell it, and you could trace it all the way up the chain, you would probably be able to prove void title and you could probably get it back. If the garbage man found the card in the trash and sold it, you would probably be SOL in getting it back (there are some nuances with California found property laws, but it isn't material to the issue of passing title). If the thief sold the card anonymously at a show and the card passed through several more hands, you would probably have a voidable title issue and you would probably lose the case, since you would not be able to prove that the card was stolen, as opposed to lost.

The key here from your standpoint is taking every precaution you can to see to it that dealers in CA and grading services are made aware of the theft. I would do a mass email to every dealer advertising in SCD and the SMR, for starters, and every other dealer you can locate in Southern CA. Keep a record of each email. That way, if the card is offered to an honest (I know. . .)dealer you've notified of the loss, you may have a shot at getting the card back. Otherwise, if a dealer simply buys the card from someone without knowledge of its title issues, you are probably not going to be able to get it back, even if you sue, because of the bona fide purchaser rule.

I would also notify PSA of the loss and send them a scan. Some people might just be stupid enough to steal it from PSA and then have a friend submit it to PSA.