Coach's Corner - The Perfect Crime?

[jt39]

You would think, in the big business of sports auctions, a company like Heritage (that has a staff of lawyers) or some of the other big auction houses in our hobby would step up and do something on this matter in a court of law.

The problem here is that they don't have a private right of action to bring. Even if Coach's Corner has used bad tactics in a way that undermines the business done by legitimate auction houses, it is highly unlikely that it rises to the level of a tort. (Check wikipedia for "tort law" for general reference.) And unlike purchasers of the products, there is no contractual relationship to base a suit on.

As stated earlier, and if I remember correctly, it is because these are in fact "opinions" of their experts as to the reason the case would be a tough nut to crack, notwithstanding the comments above. How many times do we see differing expert testimony in court? From what I have seen, as an ordinary layperson, things get pretty muddied up when you have all sorts of experts claiming different outcomes of authentication.

No question about it, there will be experts on the other side if this matter ever sees a courtroom. Seems you can find an expert who will say just about anything -- it comes down to how good their analysis is, how well it is presented, and how credible they are. But the battle of the experts would undoubtedly be the central issue.

That is why I emphasized the importance of finding the source of the forged materials. I think it is highly likely that they come from several common sources. If you can find them (should be easy enough by seeking records of who has consigned and then subpoenaing/deposing them), and show that they aren't sitting on some treasure trove of old Mickey Mantle autographed balls, but are, rather, signing them themselves by the hundreds, then it becomes a much harder argument for their expert to make that they are legit.

Food for thought, not legal advice.