The ongoing saga of Shohei Ohtani's 50th home run ball has taken yet another turn, as a second lawsuit has been filed in Florida over ownership of the ball, currently at auction at Goldin with a bid of $1.46 million, with buyer’s premium.
In a complaint filed Friday in Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit Court, plaintiff Joseph Davidov claims video evidence shows him “grabbing and possessing” the ball before an unknown fan jumped a railing and “attacked” Davidov, causing the ball to come loose and into the possession of Chris Belanski, who has consigned the ball with Goldin.
This comes less than a week after the first lawsuit, filed by 18-year-old Max Matus against Belanski, Goldin and the man marketing the ball, Kelvin Ramirez, saying Matus was the rightful owner of the ball.
A judge ruled the ball would head to auction in spite of the suit during a hearing Thursday, stipulating the ball cannot be sold until after the next court hearing, scheduled for Oct. 10, according to Andy Slater of FOX Sports Radio 640 South Florida.
Goldin announced Tuesday it has been extended the auction to Oct. 22, "given the volume of international interest in this item."
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The most recent suit names Goldin Auctions, Belanski, Ramirez and Matus, the plaintiff in the first lawsuit, as defendants and seeks injunctive relief to prevent the ball from being sold, in addition to damages in excess of $50,000.
In a statement to the Los Angeles Times on Monday, Davidov’s attorney, Devon Workman, compared the case to one which followed Barry Bonds' 73rd home run in 2001, in which a California judge ruled both men would sell the ball and split the earnings.
“The one thing I think is pretty clear in my client’s case is that out of everybody, he was essentially the only one that was jumped on, thrown to the ground,” Workman told the Times, arguing Davidov was “somewhat assaulted” when he had possession of the milestone ball.
Goldin said in a statement Tuesday that auction will proceed.
"We are aware that yet another case has been filed. Having reviewed this fan’s allegations and images included in the latest lawsuit, and publicly available video from the game, Goldin will continue with the auction of the Ohtani 50-50 ball," the auction house said. "While Goldin has been named as a party in the new case, there are again no allegations of wrongdoing by the company. We remain excited to bring this item to the market."
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.