Facts

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sued Julien Entertainment.com Inc. dba Julien's Auction.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff, a former professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association and Hall-of-Famer, accused defendant of illegally withholding 152 items plaintiff personally owned. Plaintiff claimed that defendant withheld the property with the intent of selling them at auction and amidst plaintiff's incessant demands for their return. Plaintiff denied any involvement in the consignment agreement. Plaintiff asserted claims for conversion, specific relief, and declaratory relief.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendant contended that it had lawful possession of certain items plaintiff consigned for auction to Julien's Auctions through his shell company KAJ Lifetime Retirement Collection LLC, a company solely owned by plaintiff. Defendant claimed that plaintiff filed the action only after he breached the consignment agreement he entered into with Julien's auction for the sale of those items.

Julien's won an award of over $500,000 as a result of that breach of contract, which award was entered into a judgment late last year. Defendant claimed that after the award was issued, Abdul-Jabbar filed the conversion action claiming he owned the consigned items and not the shell-company that he used to enter into the auction agreement, which prevented Julien's Auctions from being able to collect on its judgment. He sought a writ of attachment as an interim measure, which was granted. Defendant also contended that plaintiff should respect the arbitrator's award, awarding defendant damages in connection with the undelivered memorabilia.

Result

Ultimately, Abdul-Jabbar reclaimed more than $1 million of memorabilia following a judge's ruling on his favor. The judge ordered Julien's to return 152 items of Abdul-Jabbar's personal property.

Other Information

According to the defense, the conversion action has yet to be tried on the merits. Julien's Auctions filed a motion to compel arbitration of the claims, contending that Abdul-Jabbar was the alter ego of the shell company that entered into the consignment agreement or that the shell company was Abdul-Jabbar's agent. As such, Abdul-Jabbar is subject to the arbitration provision. This motion was granted and the action was ordered stayed pending the arbitration. Julien's Auctions then initiated an arbitration proceeding with JAMS against Abdul-Jabbar for breach of contract under both alter ego and agency theory and for fraudulent conveyance. This action is currently pending before Hon. Charles McCoy, ret., at JAMS. Abdul-Jabbar has yet to file any demand for arbitration for his alleged conversion claim.