Logan Paul Sues Heritage Auctions Over Michael Jordan Object Authenticity
WWE star and social media influencer Logan Paul filed a lawsuit against Heritage Auctions in a Texas district court on Thursday. The dispute centers on 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 was not allowed to investigate the authenticity of the soil before Heritage requested payment, which was originally due on September 25. The documents indicate that Heritage informed Paul that he would lose his rights to the object if he did not meet the deadline. Paul’s winning bid was $562,555.42, including the buyer’s premium. Josh Bernstein, from Akerman LLP and Paul’s lawyer, requested a temporary restraining order and a temporary injunction against Heritage Auctions. The temporary restraining order was granted on Thursday morning. The hearing date for the temporary injunction was set for October 9th.Heritage promoted the floor as “the ultimate Michael Jordan display piece.” The item description presented it as an 8-by-8-foot section of the “original 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 Heritage description, it was stated that the floor had been “consecrated 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 of 1994 to 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 claim has merit, adding that the auction house made concessions to Paul “to accommodate any in-person inspection and reasonable efforts for further review.” “We stand behind every item we sell,” said Heritage, reiterating that the floor was acquired directly from the Bulls. “This lot would not have been included in the auction unless we were completely sure of its authenticity.” Paul’s lawsuit alleges that the state of 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 lawsuit, PSA certification says the Bulls logo appears different than in photos from the 2001-05 seasons. Bernstein requested documentation from Heritage after Paul won the lot. 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 to the Bulls logo itself, not to the wood grain, which is what PSA used for its provided photo matches”. The complaint 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. Upper Deck, Beckett, and PSA could not be immediately reached for comment.“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
