L. Paul sues auction house over MJ-signed court

WWE star and social media influencer Logan Paul filed an injunction against Heritage Auctions in Texas district court Thursday, alleging authenticity concerns over a Michael Jordan-signed piece of United Center floor that Paul won at auction.

Paul says he was not allowed to investigate the floor's authenticity before Heritage solicited payment, which was originally due Sept. 25, according to court records. Per court records, Paul was told by Heritage that he would lose his rights to the floor if he did not meet the deadline.

Paul's winning bid was for $562,555.42 including buyer's premium.

Josh Bernstein of Akerman LLP, Paul's counsel, has asked for a temporary restraining order and temporary injunction against Heritage Auctions; the TRO was granted on Thursday morning. A court date regarding the temporary injunction has been set for Oct. 9.

"It goes without saying that authenticity is everything in the collectibles community," Bernstein said in a statement to ESPN. "Collectors like Logan deserve, and are entitled to, proof of authenticity that holds up under scrutiny and addresses glaring holes and inconsistencies."

Heritage marketed the floor as "the ultimate Michael Jordan display piece." The listing said it was an 8-by-8-foot section of "1994-98 United Center Original Game Used Court." It is signed by Jordan and includes the inscriptions "Air Jordan," "5X MVP," "6X Finals MVP," "10X Scoring Title" and "HOF 2009."

Heritage's listing said the floor was "hallowed by three World Championships and the footsteps of the most celebrated athlete in the history of American sports" and that it was "used from the United Center's debut season of 1994 through the NBA Championship season of 1998" through the 2005-06 season, when the floor was "removed and replaced per NBA protocol."

The Heritage listing also noted a certificate of authenticity from Upper Deck Authentication, with whom Jordan has had a longtime exclusive partnership, and third-party authentication from PSA/DNA and Beckett Authentication Services.

A spokesperson for Heritage told ESPN it does not believe Paul's injunction has any merit, adding that the auction house made allowances for Paul "to accommodate any in-person inspection and reasonable efforts for additional review."

"We stand behind every item that we sell," Heritage said, reiterating that the floor was acquired directly from the Bulls. "This lot would not have been included for sale at auction unless we were fully confident in its authenticity."

Paul's injunction alleges that the court's condition "does not match the court from 1995-1998, as a result of the court either being replaced or, as Heritage claims, repainted and resurfaced." According to the injunction, PSA certification says the Bulls logo appears different than in photos from the 2001-05 seasons as well.

Bernstein solicited documentation from Heritage after Paul won the lot. In emails found in court records, Heritage's director of sports auctions, Chris Ivy, acknowledged there is "no such documentation ... matching the court to the 1998-99, 1999-2000 or 2000-2001" seasons and that photo-matching company Sports Investors Authentication was "unsuccessful because the attempted photo matches were only to the Bulls logo itself, not the wood grain -- which is what PSA used for their provided photo matches."

The injunction acknowledges that Upper Deck's certificate references the years 1995-98 and that PSA/DNA's photo-matching certificate "claims to have matched the item to" seasons 2001-02 through 2005-06.

Upper Deck, Beckett and PSA could not be immediately reached for comment.