Liability or not, if the auction house doesn't 100% back it as represented they won't be in business long.
The auction house as a professional and deep pocket is most likely going to loose in a civil lawsuit. If they say "as is, where is, with no guarantees", then their might not be a problem. Now if the item is stolen, they might be liable in any event. Brek ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Halegua Comic Art" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, September 1, 2009 1:47:43 PM GMT -07:00 US/Canada Mountain Subject: Re: [MOPO] What is the responsibility of auction houses or dealers who sold Universal fakes as middlemen? No Bruce that isn't what Sean is saying. he's saying that IF he had sold one of these items (and to my knowledge he has not) he refunds the money to the buyer and then he pursues his source, which is the way it should be once his source refuses to pay then he sues that source. everyone who sold these is not criminal. Some people have been genuinely defrauded, but not necessarily by the consignor, if they bought from an auction house. The auction house has a fiduciary responsibility, though not a criminal one his second point is that those buyers whose purchases were small enough to designate a lawsuit as difficult should band together in a class action, making remuneration a greater possibility. Rich At 12:36 PM 9/1/2009, Bruce Hershenson wrote: So you are saying that someone who hypothically purchased a fake from say, Platinum Posters should be "working with" Platinum Posters to join a joint plaintiff suit against the originators of these fakes, and that Platinum Posters has no liability towards that person who purchased a fake from them? Is that the way the law works? If the joint plaintiff suit against the originators of these fakes is unsuccessful, or if no money is recovered, will those who acted as middlemen have ANY liability towards those who purchased the items from them? Bruce On Tue, Sep 1, 2009 at 12:26 PM, Sean Linkenback < [email protected] > wrote: What did Profiles say when you called/emailed them to ask these questions? I know they don’t have any representatives on here to read your messages, so I can only assume you have contacted them directly. I will say I think it would be horrible if they (Profiles) started legal proceedings against Ron Magid like you would have done. Why would you start legal proceedings against an innocent party that was duped? Wouldn’t you rather work with that party in holding the originator of the fakes accountable? I, for one, would not applaud you for suing innocent people that were duped – but that’s just me. I also wish that all these collectors who have been cheated and are contacting you privately would also contact me (or Jim Gresham) so that 1) we can help them get in contact with the correct investigators at the FBI who are looking into this case, and 2) discuss with them the possibility of a joint plaintiff suit against the originators of these fakes. Many of the people who have purchased these might have only purchased one or two items and feel powerless to do anything about them or to get restitution from the person(s) they purchased from, but by joining and acting together, something can and will be accomplished. What are you saying to these people when they contact you? I certainly hope you are encouraging them to do the above and not to stay quiet. From: MoPo List [ mailto:[email protected] ] On Behalf Of Bruce Hershenson Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2009 9:22 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [MOPO] What is the responsibility of auction houses or dealers who sold Universal fakes as middlemen? Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2009 9:22 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [MOPO] What is the responsibility of auction houses or dealers who sold Universal fakes as middlemen? I can't help but notice that NONE of the auction houses or dealers who sold Universal fakes as middlemen have come forward and admitted to having done so. The only name that has been mentioned is Profiles in History and they were "outed". What is the responsibility of those auction houses or dealers who sold Universal fakes towards their customers? If they long ago paid their consignors, can they simply say, "Sorry, but I was fooled just as much as you were, and therefore I have no liability at all?" Can the buyer sue the people who made the fakes even though they didn't purchase them directly? If some auction houses or dealers are making restitution to those who purchased fakes from them, is this all going on the honor system? Are any law enforcement agencies involved in investigating who the fakes were sold to, and/or making any efforts to see that restitution is made by the middlemen, or to prosecute those who made the fakes? I wish those who unwittingly sold these fakes would publicly address how they are dealing with the situation, and whether or not they are voluntarily making restitution to those who were cheated. I would think this would not be any source of embarrassment for them (I have publicly stated that is is quite likely I myself would have been fooled by these, if they are as good as people have said, and therefore I myself might well have unknowingly cheated people by auctioning them). But had I done so, I would have refunded the buyers as soon as I discovered the scam, and began legal proceedings against those who sent me the fakes, and I think the hobby would have applauded me for doing so. Some of you have made it clear you hate my posts on this subject. You have ridiculed me or in essence told me this is none of my business. But I keep getting contacted by collectors who were cheated who DO want answers to these questions, but are afraid to post publicly . I want to help them not only do I want to help see that right is done, but also because I want to protect the integrity of this hobby which provides me with my living. If anyone has anything of substance to post, I am all ears. And it is also fine if people who want to stay out of the public spotlight keep contacting me privately. Bruce Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
