Auction House Says It's Been Awarded Over $900K In 'Major Victory' Against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been ordered to pay a well-known auction house more than $900,000 in damages after an arbitrator ruled in favor of Julien's Auctions.
Dubbed a "major victory" by Julien's Auctions, the award stems from a dispute over a written consignment agreement between former NBA basketball star and the auction house.
According to the auction house, Abdul-Jabbar agreed to sell his "one-of-a-kind" and "unprecedented" memorabilia collection with Julien's Auctions.
Yet, the auction house claims he backed out of the deal, refusing to go forward with the auction.
The auction house had also alleged that Abdul-Jabbar refused to return a donation made to his charity, the Skyhook Foundation, by the auction house.
The case was arbitrated by retired Judge Charles W. McCoy, who awarded Julien's Auctions damages in the amount of $907,601.77, among other relief, according to a news release.
"We are quite pleased with the judgment and the award granted Julien's Auctions regarding this case," Darren Julien, president and CEO of Julien's Auctions, said in part. "It is very unfortunate that it had to come to this as we tried everything to come to an agreement with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and [his manager] outside of the courts."
Celebrity website TMZ.com reported that it reached out to Abdul-Jabbar's manager for comment, but had not yet heard back.
It remains unclear what further steps, if any, will be taken in the case.