Heritage Auction

[RichardSimon]

If they won't stand behind the opinion of Mike Gutierrez, regarded by some as a major authority on autographs, then what kind of company are they.
There are some people in the autograph hobby who regard Mike Gutierrez' opinion on autographs as the gold standard. Apparently his own employer does not deem that worthy of their support.
In the interest of full disclosure the consignor has contacted me, asking about other signatures and then telling me about this matter.
---

[gordonanalytic]

DALLAS, Sept. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- A racketeering lawsuit aimed at Heritage
Auctions and its top executives was expanded Wednesday, when a prominent
Montana businessman joined the charges against what has been termed as a
"massive auction scam." The suit charges the defendants used a secret,
undisclosed shill, or fictitious bidder, at auctions, so winning bidders paid
inflated prices.

Defendants in the suit are Gregory J. Rohan; Steve Ivy; James L. Halperin;
Marc D. Emory; Paul R. Minshull; Dagmar Byers; and their company, Heritage
Auctions, Inc.

Gary Hendershott, an expert in Civil War memorabilia, was joined in the suit
by Chris Kortlander, a prominent Montana businessman. Kortlander alleges that
he "consigned thousands of individual historical manuscripts and photographs
to Heritage," but was deprived of profit because of Heritage's fraudulent and
deceptive acts.

Mark Senter, attorney for the plaintiff, charged that "the Heritage defendants
use N. P. Gresham, a fake bidder, to rip-off legitimate bidders."

These charges appear to be the latest in a long line of lawsuits filed across
the U.S. charging the defendants with fraudulently manipulating auctions. In
1989 the FTC ordered Heritage to pay $1.2 million in restitution to victims of
Heritage and Halperin who had paid inflated prices for coins. Forbes magazine
reported that on another occasion, an arbitration panel ruled that Heritage
must pay $23 million to another plaintiff.

"Texas law strictly and explicitly forbids shill, or fictitious, bidders at
auctions, but James Halperin, Heritage's Chairman, admitted in sworn testimony at an injunctive hearing that N. P. Gresham does not exist. Yet Heritage later admitted that N.P. Gresham not only bids at auctions, but that no one outside of Heritage knows who Gresham is," said Senter.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants are in violation of RICO by "secretly
bidding in the name of N. P. Gresham at auctions in surreptitious competition
with other valid bidders."

Senter explained that using N. P. Gresham as a ghost bidder results in higher
prices being paid at auctions by innocent, unknowing bidders. The practice
overstates Heritage's ability to effectively get the best prices for items it
auctions.

Depositions in the lawsuit are scheduled to begin in the near future.

[thekingofclout]

True or False. Guilty or Innocent. Damage control on a board of 2200 members should be the least of their concerns...

[baseballart]

Jimmy

A google search shows the lawsuit was started in May 2009 and amended in September 2009.

Here's a link to an article with heritage's response

http://acn.liveauctioneers.com/index...ltants-lawsuit

Max

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by baseballart

Jimmy

A google search shows the lawsuit was started in September 2009.

Here's a link to an article with heritage's response

http://acn.liveauctioneers.com/index...ltants-lawsuit

Max

Max. I forgot to hit the quote option from the last post from the original poster. I think I'll take it down in order to clarify that point.

[Heritage Sports]

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_Auctions

In May 2009, Gary Hendershott, a dealer in Civil War memorabilia and U.S. Western historical objects, issued a civil RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) lawsuit against Heritage for violating several Texas state laws. Amongst Hendershott’s allegations were that Heritage utilized shill bidding to increase prices, and that the Heritage failed to pay him commissions for the auction sales he had facilitated for the firm. Heritage vehemently denied the claims, terming them an elaborate ruse by Hendershott to avoid paying his bills. "Basically, it’s the plaintiff’s lawyer trying to wage a PR war to force us to the table to settle with his client, who owes us well over a million dollars.”[22]

Hendershott’s lawsuits have been dismissed, without prejudice, by three different judges, and remanded to arbitration."[23][24][25]

In early September 2009, a similar RICO complaint was filed against the firm by Chris Kortlander, a businessman from Montana who had once hired them.[26] On September 25, 2009, all of Kortlander's claims were dismissed with prejudice.[27]

On September 16, 2009 Heritage filed a motion asking for sanctions against Hendershott and his attorneys for misconduct.[28]

On September 30, 2009 Heritage filed a lawsuit against Hendershott and his attorneys alleging defamation and civil extortion.[29]

On April 7, 2010, Judge Solis of the US District Court entered a permanent injunction commanding Hendershott and anyone acting on his behalf to remove from the Internet all previously published false, misleading and/or disparaging statements regarding Heritage and enjoining them in the future to desist from making or distributing such statements.[30]

The RICO lawsuit and all claims against Heritage were also dismissed with prejudice.[31]

[glchen]

gordonanalytic:

I know you're understandably upset about this situation and about how you've felt you've been treated by Heritage. However, at this rate, you're probably going to be banned from the board, and deservedly so. You are only further supporting the opinions on why Heritage banned you. Take it was a lesson learned, and the next time you purchase a expensive auto, make sure that there is an LOA from JSA or PSA/DNA.

About the latest Heritage posts, to be frank, I still dislike house bidding. Jonathan mentions that even if they win the item, they have to pay the 19.5% BP. However, who gets that BP? Heritage, of course. Therefore, with house bidding, Heritage is at an advantage even if they win the item. And that "7 day rule" as far as I know, is not written into the Heritage terms and conditions. If it were, I would feel better, because then I would know not to start bidding until 6 days before the auction and just take the current bid as the reserve. I still think that major auction houses should follow REA's standard of excellence, where there is not even the slightest hint of impropriety.

[calvindog]

Jonathan, far be it from me to offer such a humble guy like you some advice, but perhaps Wikipedia is not the best source to be citing when noting litigation results. Second, as per your Wikipedia entry, I noticed that the lawsuit filed by the guy from Montana was simply removed to arbitration. I'm guessing this was done due to the contract he signed with Heritage which held that any disputes would go to arbitration and not a court. I've checked Wikipedia and I'm unable to find out what happened with that litigation; perhaps you can shed some light on this.