Somewhere in Florida there is a business named Omeranz & Landsma whose owner, whoever he or she may be, has just the worst sense of humor in all the Sunshine State. Even worse than Connie Mack's campaign manager!
Omeranz's owner attended a charity auction hosted by Marlins president David Samson where Samson was all like, "The first item to bid, haha, is the Marlins for, uh, $10 million, haha," and the rest of the audience laughed, but this guy raised his hand and said, "Done!" Now he's actually suing the Marlins because he thinks the bid was a "binding contract" and he now owns the $360 million team with a brand new stadium and roster of superstars.
The very odd lawsuit, which you can read in full below, was filed a couple weeks ago in Broward County Court. It says that Samson bidded away the Marlins on Feb. 8, 2008 at an awards banquet held at the Diplomat Country Club & Spa in Hallandale Beach.
"David Samson commenced the auction by offering for sale the Florida Marlins," writes attorney Todd Payne, who filed the suit, "and opened the bidding to anyone who would offer ($10 million)."
Omeranz's owner -- who is not listed by name in the lawsuit, and whose business is not registered with the state of Florida as far as Riptide can tell -- promptly raised his hand, thus creating a "binding contract," in his mind.
He wants a judge to agree the Marlins have breached their contract by not handing over the team (which, as we noted earlier, was valued last year at $360 million by Forbes.)
Among the many things that don't add up in this complaint: Samson does not own the Marlins -- his Hamptons-livin', Miami-Dade taxpayer-swindlin' step-father Jeffrey Loria does. So even if Samson was inclined to give away the Fish for $10 million, he wouldn't exactly have the power to do it.
Riptide has called Payne to try to get a little more information on this lawsuit. If and when we hear back, we'll update the post.
Here's the full complaint, via Courthouse News:
Marlins Suit
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