Posted By:
Corey R. ShanusPeter, thanks for your posts analyzing the various legal issues. I find them very informative.
I would like to probe a bit further on one aspect. Let's assume we are correct in our inference that the high price was fueled by the perception the card was unique. And let's also assume it can be proven that that perception of uniqueness was created solely by the MHCC catalog description and subsequent conversations with MHCC personnel. Are you saying that MHCC could more likely than not mount a successful defense to an allegation of misrepresentation on the grounds that bidder reliance on these MHCC assertions of uniqueness was unreasonable? While I understand your point about hype, puffery, etc., in this instance it still seems strange to believe a court would look sympathetically on an auction house's defense that even though the bidders were lead to believe solely by the actions of the auction house precisely what the auction house wanted them to believe, they acted unreasonably in believing it.