Has anyone ever hired a lawyer for an incorrect authentication determination

Has anyone ever heard of hiring a lawyer and filing a lawsuit over an authenticator for making a BIG mistake on a baseball autograph? If I can 100% prove that the authenticator made an error in his determination, can I hold the firm liable and ask for a baseball that would be equal in value HAD the ball been 100% genuine? Is this even possible?

Believe it or not, I can 100% prove the authenticator made a costly mistake so do I have a case?

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Permalink Reply by Rock G III on October 29, 2013 at 12:35pm

No its an opinion you are paying for when you get an item authenticated. Had they said they witnessed it sure.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on October 29, 2013 at 1:51pm

Did you buy the ball from the authenticator? If not, why not pursue the seller?

I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to me the only way you would have legal standing against an authenticator (who was not the seller) is if you could prove gross negligence or intentional wrongdoing on their part.

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Permalink Reply by Mike T on October 29, 2013 at 8:37pm

Did you have a contractual agreement that specifically outlined liability? If not, you do not have any legal recourse (in the state of new York, at least). Zipper is correct that you could claim negligence, but if the party does not have a stake in the disputed transaction that would be a very tough case to make.

There are, of course, a lot more questions that need to be answered, especially if it crosses state lines, but the short answer is the dispute is between you and the seller, not the authenticator.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Gregory on October 29, 2013 at 10:24pm

Firstly what loss did you suffer? Did you sell the baseball autograph unauthenticated after it failed authentication and if so what price did it achieve? Second, did the authenticator offer an opinion or guarantee it was not real?

Usually the terms and conditions are fairly watertight and at best you may be able to recover the authentication fee you paid.

If you went to court and won a case then anyone can then sue and authenticators would only authenticate a smaller amount or just refuse to authenticate most items