Trekkie Sues Christie's for Fraudulent Props

Token_Internet_Girl passed us a link to an MSNBC article on a very disappointed Star Trek fan. Mr. Moustakis of NJ bought a poker visor he thought was worn by Data in Next Generation at a Christie's auction for some $6,000. When he brought it to a convention to have it signed, actor Brent Spiner explained that he'd already sold the well-known visor in a personal sale; like Senator Vreenak, Moustakis had been given a fake. "Christie's spokesman Rik Pike stood behind the authenticity of the auction and said the disgruntled buyer's case had no merit. The lawsuit, filed in state court in Manhattan, demands millions of dollars in punitive damages and a refund for the visor and two other items Moustakis bought at the 2006 auction."

Re:Refund? Sure. Damages???

[winkydink]

I agree that he'd be entitled to punitive damages if this were a scam, but I find it hard to fathom that Christie's would knowingly commit fraud.

Re:Refund? Sure. Damages???

[badasscat]

I agree that he'd be entitled to punitive damages if this were a scam, but I find it hard to fathom that Christie's would knowingly commit fraud.

Didn't read TFA posted here, but there was an article/interview in the NY Daily News the other day with this guy and he said one of the things Spiner told him when they met was "I told them not to sell" the visor because it was fake. If that's true - and it seems like you'd have to take the word of the guy who supposedly wore it - then there could be a case for fraud. Christie's at that point went ahead with an auction they were warned about by one of the principals involved with the merchandise.

Of course, it also depends on how these items were presented. I read the catalog for this auction at the time and many of the items were presented as rehearsal props or backups, or were otherwise never claimed to have actually been used on the show. Maybe this guy *believed* this visor was used on the show, but Christie's never said so. If that's the case, he's gonna have a tough time collecting anything from them.

Re:Refund? Sure. Damages???

[NerveGas]

Pretending to be Worf? Obviously, you've never seen the dentists' family on "Trekkies", and heard what people really do when they're pretending to be Data...

Well

[Daimanta]

I wonder what the trekkie said when he found out the item was not authentic.

Re:Refund? Sure. Damages???

[Deadstick]

Putting it differently, if the only consequence of being caught in fraud were having to give the money back, fraud would be consistently profitable. Cheat ten people out of $100 apiece, get caught twice, and you're $800 ahead...so we have punitive damages to discourage that.

You could call it a large-scale version of shortchanging...same principle.

rj