Would you follow through and pay? Brady's last TD

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

I have to follow my conscience and return the money. If my consignor wants to litigate that decision then all the arguments that have been advanced in this thread come into play, but between me and my consignor instead of me and my buyer. How was the item listed on the consignment contract? If it was listed as Tom Brady's final TD ball then I think I have a chance. If it was listed in some more nebulous fashion I feel like I'm at risk.

I will say if my company had the $500k (we don't) and it wouldn't cripple us, I would likely pay the consignor. On my scale I have done things like that in the past, it's just my scale is much smaller. Doesn't mean I haven't had to suck up a few that hurt, just that pain is relative. I would think one of the HUGE auction houses shelling out $500k isn't all that different than me shelling out a few grand. That being said I really don't know enough about Leland's to know if they could absorb that kind of hit, and would never presume to say everyone should do things the way I would.

I'd be curious to see if this would be covered by errors and omissions insurance. At the very least my insurance company would likely get involved in the litigation if it came to that, to prove this wasn't an error or omission but an unforeseeable event and back to the arguments we've all been having. I know I'd sure as hell file the claim to get them involved if it came down to it.

Thank you for the very interesting and straightforward answer, and I'd probably agree and do what you did. I guess one major question can be who comes up with and is responsible for the actual auction description. I assume the consignor tells the AH what the item is, but that is probably embellished a bit by the AH then, so responsibility may be a bit murky.

And thanks for bringing up the insurance aspect. I totally forgot about that. It is another reason to go with your Option #1 if your insurer is on board. You watch, if this Brady football case ends up costing some insurance company big money, don't be shocked if down the road you see something about policy changes or new requirements from your insurer because of this.

Tell you what, I hope you personally never have to face an issue like this one yourself.

And from what I was just reading in Steve's link to Leland's auction terms, I think they may be in a worse position than I ever would have expected. Can only imagine what their consignment agreement and terms look like.