MIAMI — The claim to Shohei Ohtani’s potentially lucrative 50th home run got more complicated this week, with a second fan filing a lawsuit claiming possession of the historic baseball.
According to online records, the latest lawsuit was filed by Joseph Davidov in Florida’s 11th Circuit Court, and the defendants are Chris Belanski, Kelvin Ramirez, Max Matus and Goldin Auctions. Belanski is the man who left the stadium with the baseball. Matus — who filed the first lawsuit last week — and Ramirez has also claimed ownership of the ball.
Ohtani became the first player in baseball history to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases, reaching the mark on September 19 with his homer in Miami against the Marlins. The bid on baseball through Goldin Auctions is currently at $1.464 million.
Due to a ruling related to Matu’s lawsuit, the ball cannot be formally sold until a hearing scheduled for October 10.
Davidov claims in his suit that he was able to “firmly and fully grasp the ball in his left hand while it was on the ground, successfully gaining possession of the 50/50 ball.”
The suit goes on to say that “an unknown fan improperly jumped the railing, jumped on Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s arm and attacked Plaintiff causing the 50/50 ball to dislodge and roll into Defendant Chris Belanski’s hands.”
Davidov is seeking more than $50,000 in damages.
The first lawsuit alleges that Matus, a Florida resident celebrating his 18th birthday, gained possession of the Ohtani ball before Belanski removed it. Part of the presentation by Matu’s lawyer on October 10 will be a video of the match about the ball in the stands.
“Max managed to grab the 50/50 ball in his left hand and intended to keep it,” the lawsuit said. “Unfortunately, a few seconds later, the defendant Belanski – a muscular older man – caught the plaintiff’s arm between his legs and 50/50 twisted the ball out of Max’s left hand.”
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