Logan Paul Sues Heritage Auctions Over Authenticity of Michael Jordan Item
WWE star and recognized social media influencer, Logan Paul, has filed a request for a restraining order in a Texas district court against Heritage Auctions. The dispute arises due to concerns about the authenticity of a section of the United Center floor, signed by Michael Jordan, which Paul acquired at an auction. According to court records, Paul alleges that he was not allowed to investigate the authenticity of the soil before Heritage requested payment, the original deadline for which was September 25. He was informed that he would lose his rights to the object if he did not meet the deadline. Paul’s winning bid amounted to $562,555.42, including the buyer’s premium. Josh Bernstein, Paul’s lawyer at Akerman LLP, requested a temporary restraining order and a temporary injunction against Heritage Auctions. The temporary restraining order was granted on Thursday morning, and the hearing on the temporary injunction is scheduled for October 9.Heritage promoted the floor as “the ultimate Michael Jordan display piece.” The description detailed an 8-by-8-foot section of the “original game-used floor from the 1994-98 United Center.” It was signed by Jordan and included the inscriptions “Air Jordan”, “5X MVP”, “6X Finals MVP”, “10X Scoring Title” and “HOF 2009”. In the description, Heritage stated that the floor was “honored by three World Championships and the footprints of the most celebrated athlete in the history of American sports” and that it was “used from the United Center’s debut season in 1994 through the 1998 NBA Championship season” until the 2005-06 season, when the floor was “retired and replaced according to NBA protocol”. The Heritage description also mentioned a certificate of authenticity from Upper Deck Authentication, with whom Jordan has had an exclusive partnership for a long time, and third-party authentication from PSA/DNA and Beckett Authentication Services. A Heritage spokesperson stated that they do not believe Paul’s request for a restraining order has merit, adding that the auction house made concessions to Paul “to accommodate any in-person inspection and reasonable efforts for further review.”“It goes without saying that authenticity is everything in the collector community. Collectors like Logan deserve, and are entitled to, proof of authenticity that withstands scrutiny and addresses the obvious gaps and inconsistencies.”
Josh Bernstein
Paul’s request for a restraining order alleges that the floor “does not match the floor from 1995-1998, as a result of the floor being replaced or, as Heritage claims, repainted and refinished.” According to the request, PSA certification indicates that the Bulls logo appears different than in photos from the 2001-05 seasons. After Paul won the lot, Bernstein requested documentation from Heritage. In emails found in court records, Heritage’s sports auction director, Chris Ivy, acknowledged that there is “no documentation matching the floor from the 1998-99, 1999-2000 or 2000-2001 seasons” and that the photo-matching company Sports Investors Authentication “was unsuccessful because the photo matching attempts were only with the Bulls logo itself, not the wood grain, which is what PSA used for its provided photo matches”. The request for injunctive relief acknowledges that the Upper Deck certificate refers to the years 1995-98 and that the PSA/DNA photo-matching certificate “claims to have matched the item” with the 2001-02 to 2005-06 seasons.“We stand behind every item we sell. This lot would not have been included in the auction unless we were fully confident of its authenticity”.
Heritage Spokesperson
