Name of original owner of Ohtani 50/50 ball changed in court documents

A few days before the Shohei Ohtani 50/50 home run ball sold for a record $4.392 million, lawyers amended their civil lawsuits challenging ownership of the ball, saying the person originally named as receiving the ball in a scrum , was misidentified.

The lawsuits, which originally used the name “Chris Belanski” to identify the fan who ultimately grabbed the ball, have been changed — the name in court filings has been changed to Christian Zacek.

A lawyer for Max Matus, the 18-year-old fan who filed the first lawsuit saying he owned the ball before another person took it away from him, said the original name was used after his side tried , to identify the person Park who captured the ball.

“We just did the best we could,” said attorney John Uustal of the Kelley-Uustal Law Firm in Florida. “I don't remember exactly where we got the name or who it came from, but there were witnesses who thought they knew the name from that day in the park. Totally my mistake.”

Uustal said the contract with the contracted auction house, Goldin Auctions, contained the name of a lawyer representing a person named Zacek.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time, identifying the defendant is not a problem,” Uustal said. “Here it was, and who knows why? It’s not hard to identify people in the modern world, so I don’t know what’s going on and I don’t have any speculation about it.”

Zacek's lawyers – Dustin Robinson, Jon Claussen and Bob Josefsberg – confirmed to ESPN that Christian Zacek is the name of the person wearing a black shirt in the widely circulated video showing the chase for the ball and that it was Zacek left LoanDepot Park with the ball.

“We don’t know where the plaintiffs got that (original) name,” Robinson said. “But it has no impact on the future.”

“Basically it’s a procedural question before the court, it’s just a matter of swapping the name,” Claussen said. “The process is not that advanced yet. Sometimes when you try to file a restraining order to move things along, it happens. I don’t think it happens too often.”

Goldin Auctions, which auctioned the ball last week, and Kelvin Ramirez — originally named as a co-defendant in the cases — were removed from both lawsuits.

On September 19, Ohtani became the first player in Major League history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season. That night, he hit three home runs and stole two bases to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a playoff-clinching 20-4 win over the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park in Miami.

Shortly after that game, a civil trial began over possession of the ball. Matus' lawsuit says he was standing at the fence in left field when he saw the ball coming toward him. When he tried to retrieve it, he “successfully” grabbed it with his left hand, the suit says. The lawsuit states that “a muscular, older man” then trapped his arm “between his legs and ripped the 50/50 ball from Max's left hand.” The lawsuit says Matus was the rightful owner of the ball before it was “forcibly taken away from him.”

Another fan, Joseph Davidov, also filed a lawsuit claiming he was the rightful owner.

Court records showed an agreement was reached on Oct. 7 that allowed the auction to continue and complete regardless of the legal battles over ownership of the ball.

According to a spokesperson for Goldin Auctions, “a Taiwanese company” paid more than $4 million for the ball. That money has been placed in escrow while the litigation continues. Goldin Auctions said it will announce the buyer after the conclusion of the World Series between the New York Yankees and Dodgers.