REPORT & RECOMMENDATION In 1945, the celebrated baseball player Jackie Robinson signed a contract to play for the Montreal Royals’ 1946 baseball season. In 1947, Robinson signed a contract to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers’ 1947 baseball season. Those contracts are now being held by the United States Marshals Service. Copies of the contracts are annexed hereto. The issue raised in the motions now before this Court is who is the rightful owner of these two contracts. This suit was brought by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission against Collector’s Coffee, Inc. (“CCI”) and its principal, Mykalai Kontilai, alleging securities fraud. The sole asset of any value held by CCI are the two contracts signed by Jackie Robinson, which CCI bought in 2013 for $2 million. After this suit was filed, the contracts were placed in the custody of the United States Marshals Service and are being kept in storage pending the lawsuit’s outcome. An investor group consisting of Adobe Investments, LLC; SDJ Investments, LLC; and Darren Sivertsen (collectively. “the Holders”) has intervened in this action, claiming ownership of the contracts because the contracts were collateral for approximately $6 million in loans they made to CCI, which are now in default. The Jackie Robinson Foundation, Inc. (“JRF”), which was given the Dodgers’ rights in the contracts as a gift, has also intervened seeking a declaration that it is the rightful owner. The Holders have now filed a motion seeking summary judgment on their claim that CCI had title to the Contracts at the time the Holders made their loans to CCI and JRF has cross-moved for summary judgment against CCI seeking a declaratory judgment as to its own claim to title.1 For the reasons stated below, neither side should be granted summary judgment because there are questions of fact as to who owns the contracts that must be resolved by a jury.2 I. BACKGROUND The following facts are undisputed except as otherwise stated. In October 1945, Jackie Robinson signed a contract with the minor league Montreal Royals baseball team to play for the 1946 season. See Holders’ Response to JRF’s Statement of Material Facts, filed Dec. 14, 2022 (Docket # 1138) (“Holders 56.1 Response”), at 7. The contract also bore the signature of Royals President Hector Racine and a stamp on the final page above Robinson’s signature stating that Robinson “acknowledge[d] receipt of duplicate of executed contract.” See Contract, annexed as Exhibit C to First Spitzer Decl. (Docket # 1124-2). At the time, the Montreal Royals were a minor league affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers, which owned a “significant” or “controlling” interest in the team. Holders 56.1 Response 6. In April 1947, Robinson signed a major league contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Id. 9; see Contract, annexed as Exhibit D to First Spitzer Decl. (Docket # 1124-2). The contract was stamped “Approved” and signed by Dodgers President Branch Rickey and Ford Frick, the president of the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs. Holders 56.1 Response 9. Id. Both the Royals and Dodgers contracts (collectively, the “Contracts”) followed the “Uniform Player Contract” (“UPC”) format used by the baseball leagues at the time. Id. 12. Temporally, the next piece of evidence referencing the existence of either of the contracts is an article published in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on February 10, 1948. See Exhibit to Show Part Played by Negroes in Boro Since 1660, Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Feb. 10, 1948), annexed as Exhibit 22 to First DeMarco Decl. (Docket # 1120-22) (“1948 Article”).3 This article describes an exhibit “depicting the part played by Negro residents of Brooklyn from 1660 to the present time” in the Brooklyn Hall of Records “as part of the borough celebration of Negro History Week.” Id. The 1948 Article states that the exhibit was arranged by “Borough Historian James A. Kelly” and that the documents on exhibit include “the contract signed by Jackie Robinson with the Montreal baseball team.” Id. An article published on February 12, 1952, in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle announced that another exhibit at the Brooklyn Hall of Records was “now in progress” and that it displayed a number of documents relating to “the history of the Negro in Brooklyn.” See Hall of Records Exhibit, Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Feb. 12, 1952), annexed to Letter from Richard Schonfeld, filed May 15, 2023 (Docket # 1225) (“1952 Article”). The article describes a document from New York’s early history written in Dutch and then states the following: In the same display case is a uniform player’s contract made by the Dodgers with Jackie Robinson. It was Robinson’s first pact with the Flock, dated 1947 and listing his salary as $5000. It was made available to the exhibition by Walter O’Malley, Dodger president. Branch Rickey contributed another Robinson contract, one made in 1946 with the Montreal Royals. Id. The article states that Walter O’Malley was “president” of the Dodgers. The parties agree that at this point Rickey was no longer employed by the Dodgers. See Holders Reply at 2 n.2. Importantly, the 1952 Article states that the exhibit was “prepared…by James A. Kelly, Deputy County Clerk and Borough Historian.” Id. It states that Kelly prepared the exhibit “on behalf of County Clerk Francis J. Sinnott.” Id. As noted, Kelly was also referenced in the 1948 Article as the person arranging the exhibit of the Royals contract. An article published on February 18, 1974, in the New York Daily News describes the opening of the “James A. Kelly Institute for Local Historical Studies” (the “Institute”), housed at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, and also describes the records the Institute holds. See Keeping Up to Date on the Past, N.Y. Daily News (Feb. 18, 1974), annexed as Exhibit 1 to Letter from Richard Schonfeld, filed Apr. 28, 2023 (Docket # 1211-1) (“1974 Article”). The 1974 Article reads in relevant part: For the history buff, the James A. Kelly Institute for Local Historical Studies is a treasure trove of four million documents, records, charters, maps and memorabilia of Brooklyn’s history. The institute opened its new home last Friday at St. Francis College, 180 Remsen St., Brooklyn Heights. Books, artifacts, pictures and posters are housed in five basement rooms. Id. The article then describes a number of historical documents including the “bill of sale for Coney Island in 1654.” Id. The following paragraph appears next: And then, there is Jackie Robinson’s original contracts with the Brooklyn Dodgers and the then minor-league Montreal team he played with before coming to Brooklyn. Id. The article recounts that “[a]t its opening, Arthur J. Konop, institute director, welcomed guests from across the city.” Id. The article states: The institute is named for the first official borough historian, James A. Kelly, who died in 1971 at the age of 86. His wife came to applaud the work of Konop and his staff members, David Oats and Eric Ierardi. Konop, a former assistant county clerk, worked with Kelly and James F. Waters to assemble and catalogue the material collected over the years. Id. The article contains a photograph of Konop at the “opening-day ceremonies.” Id. On July 11, 1979, another article appeared in the Daily News reporting on the Institute. It describes a “new brochure” that had been issued by the “James A. Kelly Institute” as a result of “increased funding and an enlarged staff.” See Archives Store Treasure Trove of Brooklyn’s Past, N.Y. Daily News, July 11, 1979, annexed as Exhibit 2 to Letter from Richard Schonfeld, filed Apr. 28, 2023 (Docket # 1211-2) (“1979 Article”). The article makes clear that its source is “institute Director Arthur Konop” and displays a picture of Konop holding a copy of the brochure. Id. The article quotes Konop as saying: “[w]e are in the midst of enlarging the institute and becoming more active in letting people know what we do.” Id. Konop referred to the fact that the institute “received some money from various foundations and businesses” and that he hoped that the brochure “will help attract additional money in the future.” Id. The article continues: The institute, at 180 Remsen St., houses one of the largest collections of source documents, memorabilia and archives on New York’s history and, more especially, on Brooklyn’s history. Originally founded in 1956 as the Brooklyn Historical Studies Institute of St. Francis College, its first director was James A. Kelly, the official borough historian from 1944-1971. After Kelly’s death the institute was renamed in his honor. Items in the crowded basement rooms range from the entire collection of Kings County town records dating back 300 years, to collections of personal papers from politicians such as John Rooney and Eugene Keogh, over 7,000 maps and charts of old Brooklyn and a library and files with information on almost every phase of life in Brooklyn. Konop even has Jackie Robinson’s original contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers. … “Anything having to do with Brooklyn or with New York in any facet of interest, we probably have information on,” said the director. Id. (emphasis added). The article states that the institute “draws people from all over the world.” Id. It states: “Despite the library’s constant use, the institute charges no fees for its services and, until last year, was funded solely by St. Francis College.” Id. It notes that “because of the age of many of the irreplaceable documents and records, the Kelly Institute has embarked on a major microfilming and restoration project and that, Konop said, costs money. Thus the director hopes that the new publicity campaign will attract not only additional users, but also some ongoing support to ensure the upkeep of the vast collection.” Id. Konop died in 2009. Holders 56.1 Response 36. Scott Konop testified that upon his father’s death, his mother gave him an envelope containing a key to a safe deposit box that housed the Contracts, along with a message from his father: “my kids will know what to do with this.” Id.4 In 2012, Konop’s estate sold the Contracts to a company called Gotta Have It Collectibles (“Gotta Have It”) for $750,000. Id.
45-46; JRF Mem at 10. Gotta Have It sold the Contracts to CCI in July 2013 for $2 million. Holders 56.1 Response 57. CCI later obtained loans from the Holders for $6 million secured by the Contracts. Id.
