Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been ordered to pay more than $900,000 to Julien's Auctions after failing to meet the requirements of a deal both sides made years ago. According to TMZ Sports, Abdul-Jabbar and the auction house worked out an arrangement that would allow them to sell 400 items belonging to the former Bucks and Lakers big man. However, two years later, Kareem visited Julien's, physically removed some memorabilia, and never brought the items back.
As part of their 2012 deal, Julien's Auctions is claiming in their lawsuit that it also gave a sizable donation of $300,000 to Abdul-Jabbar's foundation, but when things fell through between both parties, the auction house didn't receive its money back. Julien's is now looking to have the six-time NBA MVP return that payment, in addition to covering a number of other expenses.
The $900,000 judgment is expected to cover the costs of damages, as well as interest and attorney fees. Abdul-Jabbar will also be required to return the items that he took from the auction house. After the ruling was handed down, Julien's president and CEO Darren Julien released a statement claiming his company tried reaching out to the 69-year-old in an effort to work something out without having to take their grievance to arbitration. "It is very unfortunate that it had to come to this as we tried everything to come to an agreement with [Kareem and his manager] outside of the courts," he said.
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