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Dan Hajducky, ESPN Staff Writer
Days before the Shohei Ohtani 50/50 home run ball sold for a record $4.392 million, lawyers amended their civil lawsuits challenging the ball’s ownership, saying the person originally named as having obtained the ball in a scrum was misidentified.
The lawsuits, which originally used the name “Chris Belanski” to identify the fan who eventually grabbed the ball, have been amended — with the name in legal filings changed to Christian Zacek.
An attorney for Max Matus, the 18-year-old fan who filed the first lawsuit and says he had possession of the ball before another person grabbed it from him, said the original name was used after his side sought to identify the person at the park who claimed the ball.
“We were just doing the best we can,” said the lawyer, John Uustal, of the Kelley-Uustal law firm in Florida. “I don’t recall exactly where we got the name or who it’s from, but it was witnesses who thought they knew the name from that day at the park. Entirely my mistake.”
Uustal said the contract with the consigned auction house, Goldin Auctions, included the name of a lawyer representing a person named Zacek.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time, identifying the defendant is not a problem,” Uustal said. “Here it was, and who knows why? It’s not hard to identify people in the modern world, so, I don’t know what’s going on and I don’t have any speculation on it.”
Zacek’s attorneys — Dustin Robinson, Jon Claussen, and Bob Josefsberg — confirmed to ESPN that Christian Zacek is the name of the person seen wearing a black shirt in the widely circulated video showing the chase for the ball, and that it was Zacek who left LoanDepot Park with the ball.
“We don’t know where the plaintiffs came up with that [original] name,” Robinson said. “But it has no effect going forward.”
“It’s basically a procedural issue with the court, just a swapping out of the name,” Claussen said. “It’s not that far into the proceedings. Sometimes, when you’re trying to file an injunction to move things along, it happens. I don’t believe it happens too frequently.”
Goldin Auctions, which sold the ball at auction last week, and Kelvin Ramirez — originally named as co-defendants in the cases — have been removed from both lawsuits.
On Sept. 19, Ohtani became the first player in major league history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season. That night, he hit three home runs and stole two bases to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a playoff-clinching 20-4 rout of the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park in Miami.
Civil litigation over ownership of the ball started shortly after that game. Matus’ lawsuit says he was standing by the fence in left field when he saw the ball coming toward him. When he went to try to get it, the suit says, he “successfully grabbed” it in his left hand. The lawsuit says “a muscular, older man” then trapped his arm “in between his legs and wrangled the 50/50 Ball out of Max’s left hand.” The suit says Matus was the rightful owner of the ball before it was “forcefully taken away from him.”
Another fan, Joseph Davidov, also filed suit claiming he was the rightful owner.
Court filings showed an agreement was reached Oct. 7 that allowed the auction to proceed and conclude apart from the lawsuits over the ball’s ownership.
According to a spokesperson for Goldin Auctions, “a Taiwanese corporation” paid more than $4 million for the ball. That money has been placed in escrow while litigation plays out. Goldin Auctions has said it plans to reveal the buyer following the conclusion of the World Series between the New York Yankees and Dodgers.
Source: www.espn.com