Logan Paul is suing Heritage Auctions to prevent the resale of a signed Chicago Bulls court section as he questions its authenticity.
In a petition filed Wednesday in Dallas County District Court, Paul alleges that Heritage is pressuring him to pay $562,555.42 for an 8-by-8-foot section of the United Center court, signed by Michael Jordan, that was advertised as game-used from 1994 through the Bulls’ 1998 championship season. Paul has publicly questioned the authenticity of the item.
“Heritage Auctions does not believe that the buyer has any merit to their claims, and we stand behind every item that we sell,” Heritage Auctions said in a statement to WFAA. “This lot would not have been included for sale at auction unless we were fully confident in the authenticity.”
In the filing, Paul claims his own review uncovered contradictions in Heritage’s listing. The filing claims the Upper Deck certificate provided by Heritage certifies use of the court from 1995 to 1998, not 1994 as claimed. A separate PSA photomatch certificate tied the wood to games from 2001 to 2006 — years after Jordan’s last run with the Bulls — and included only one actual photo match instead of the 10 claimed, the filing states.
Paul contends that Heritage failed to provide documentation supporting the item’s authenticity and even acknowledged that it had no records linking the floor piece to the 1994 or 1998–2001 seasons.
The filing claims Heritage invoiced Paul days after the Aug. 23 auction. However, when Paul’s lawyers requested that the auctioneer hold the piece while authenticity concerns were investigated, Heritage refused. Instead, the company told Paul that if he didn’t pay by Sept. 25, the consignor wanted the item returned or re-auctioned.
Heritage, in correspondence filed with the court, defended its due diligence, saying it consulted Upper Deck, former Bulls personnel and third-party authenticators.
“The Chicago Bulls court piece is authenticated and warranted as authentic by The Upper Deck company that originally acquired it directly from the Bulls organization, and it also has extensive third-party autograph authentication from Beckett Authentication, as well as photo-matching authentication from PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator),” Heritage told WFAA.
Paul’s suit asks the court to issue a temporary restraining order preventing Heritage from canceling the sale, reselling the item or returning it to the consignor until the dispute is resolved in arbitration, as required by Heritage’s auction terms. The filing cites a Texas law that grants buyers the right to inspect goods before payment and allows courts to order “specific performance” when unique goods are at stake.
Heritage told WFAA that it offered Paul the chance to inspect the chunk of court in person at its North Texas headquarters.
“Heritage made allowances for the buyer to accommodate any in-person inspection and reasonable efforts for additional review,” the auction house said.
Paul’s attorneys claimed that an inspection was insufficient, arguing the real issue was missing documents.
Without relief, the filing argues Paul faces “probable, imminent, and irreparable harm” because the court section, if authentic, is one-of-a-kind and cannot be replaced on the open market. The suit also insists Paul will pay the full auction price if the item’s authenticity is confirmed.
Paul, a YouTuber, pro wrestler, and co-owner of the beverage brand Prime, has been an avid collector in recent years. Paul boasts a large and valuable collection of Pokémon cards, and he holds the world record for the most expensive purchase of a single card, spending $5.275 million on a PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator card.
