Court dismisses Star Trek memorabilia lawsuit

A New Jersey man filed a lawsuit earlier this year claiming that he is entitled to $7 million in damages after being duped into purchasing fake Star Trek memorabilia; however, an appeals court disagreed and dismissed the case on Tuesday.

According to his lawsuit, Ted Moustakis paid $17,400 for a uniform and poker visor supposedly worn by the character Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and $6,600 for a table purported to be from the show's set in a 2006 auction, the Associated Press reports.

However, when the Trekkie showed off his items to Brent Spiner, the actor who played the android Data, at a 2007 fan convention, Moustakis learned that the memorabilia was likely fake.

The lawsuit claims that all three items Moustakis purchased were bogus even though he was led to believe that they were one of a kind and authentic by Christie's auction house.

However, the New York Supreme Court's Appellate Division ruled that Christie's auction catalog did not represent the costume as authentic and claimed that even if the other items were improperly advertised, Moustakis is not entitled to "the massive recovery he now demands."

StarTrekMemorabelia.com is currently selling costumes from the series for up to $2,000.

http://www.avvo.com/news/court-dismisses-star-trek-memorabilia-lawsuit--608.html