Thr first course of action is to go after the auction house. You as the buyer are not privy to the arrangement made between the consignor and the auction house. You as the buyer may possibly join a lawsuit initiated by the auction house against the consignor but it is the responsibility of the auction house to refund payment to the buyer and to go after the consignor. FRANC
-----Original Message----- From: Richard Halegua Comic Art [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2009 3:49 PM To: Franc; [email protected] Subject: Re: [MOPO] What is the responsibility of auction houses or dealers who sold Universal fakes as middlemen? not entirely true Franc.. if you can prove that the third party has culpability in a fraud, you can indeed enjoin them into a lawsuit Rich At 12:47 PM 9/1/2009, Franc wrote: The Auction Houses usually provides a warranty that is selling originals not fakes and if the auction house unwittingly sells a fake, they should have the responsibility of making good on it. That's why auction houses have insurance. It's ridiculous to presume that an auction house has no responsibility to the buyer. Furthermore the buyer's legal relationship is to the auction house, not to the person who consigned the bogus item and in this country you sue the person to whom you've entered into a contract, not a third party. FRANC -----Original Message----- From: MoPo List [ mailto:[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> ] On Behalf Of Bruce Hershenson Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2009 3:37 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [MOPO] What is the responsibility of auction houses or dealers who sold Universal fakes as middlemen? 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]> 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? 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 <http://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.
