Baltimore Orioles Limited v. Northshore Sports Inc.

Team:
Bramjot Uberoi
Tiana Myers


The case we have been assigned is a case between the Baltimore Orioles and Phil Regan,

the Orioles former manager. The correct citation is Baltimore Orioles Limited v. North Shore

Sports Inc. [Note that Regan worked with North Shore to auction the card. Regan is also named

as a party in the suit.] The litigants involved in this particular lawsuit include the Baltimore

Orioles Limited as the plaintiff and North Shore Sports Incorporated as the defendants. This

lawsuit was filed on December 8, 1998 in the Circuit Court in Cook County, which is located in

Chicago, Illinois.

There are important elements in this case. After Phil Regan left the Orioles after the

1995 season, he arranged for a carbon copy of a game card to be auctioned. This carbon

copy card was significant because this was the game, in which, Cal Ripken broke baseball’s

consecutive game record. However, the Baltimore Orioles went to court and won a temporary

restraining order preventing the purchase of the carbon copy from being completed since the

organization claimed the card was still rightfully theirs. The Baltimore Orioles elements in this

case include eliminating North Shore Sports from selling the carbon copy of the card because

by the definition of property law, the carbon copy still belongs to the Baltimore Orioles and not

Phil Regan or North Shore Sports.

The status of the Baltimore Orioles Limited v. North Shore Sports Inc, which includes Phil

Regan, case has been voluntary dismissed from by an out-of-court agreement. The out-of court

settlement has been reached between the Baltimore Orioles Limited v. North Shore Sports

Inc that will allow Phil Regan to sell the line-up card that he made of copy of in hopes to make

money from the day Cal Ripkin broke Lou Gehrig’s consecutive start streak. Both sides did not

disclose the details of the settlement but it does allow Phil Regan to sell the line-up card to a

Virginia man that paid more than $40,000. In addition to that, Regan was able to sell the line-up

card the night before, when Cal Ripkin tied Lou Gehrig’s record. The main issue in this dispute

is whether the line-up card original and copies are the property of the Baltimore Orioles,

which would not allow Phil Regan to sell the tickets through the services of the telephone

auction company North Shore Sports Inc. If the Baltimore Orioles did have sole custody of the

property, Phil Regan would not be able to sell the card to an auctioneer or a third party; this

all relates to what the plaintiff, Baltimore Orioles Limited, wants from the case. The Baltimore

Orioles Limited want to prevent North Shore Sports Inc and Phil Regan from having the right

to property of the line-up cards that Regan made while he was under the employment of the

Orioles. The Orioles do not want to allow Regan to make money off of an act that he did while

he was at work, but was not in the scope of employment; hence making a profit from the work

of the Baltimore Orioles. Cal Ripken worked under the Baltimore Orioles and not Phil Regan, so

the Orioles want possession of the line-up cards.