Kobe Bryant's court battles this time of year usually involve officials dressed in striped shirts, not robes.
A federal judge in California has told a New Jersey auction house that it cannot sell or distribute memorabilia of the NBA superstar that it purchased from Bryant's mother while the matter of which court has jurisdiction over the case remains undecided, The Associated Press is reporting.
Bryant currently is in a dispute with his mother over whether she had his permission to sell hundreds of items - from his high school playing days all the way up to his early NBA career.
The 15-time Los Angeles Lakers all-star added that two of his more cherished possessions that he believed to be in his California home - a trophy and a surfboard award he received from the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards - somehow were among the items that Pamela had sold to New Jersey-based Golding Auctions.
Pamela Bryant made a deal with Goldin Auctions in January to sell practice gear, jerseys, varsity letters and awards from Bryant's high school career at Pennsylvania's Lower Merion High School, as well as a signed ball from an NBA All-Star game and championship rings that Los Angeles Lakers had made for his parents.
The auction house appraised the value of some 900 items at $1.5 million and gave Pamela a $450,000 advance. According to the AP, a court filing said that Pamela intended to use the money to buy a home in Nevada.
Property records show that Pamela and Joe Bryant, Kobe's father, bought a home in Las Vegas earlier this year.
Goldin announced on April 30 that it would hold the first auction for Bryant's memorabilia in June. Bryant's lawyers quickly asked the auction house to scrap the sale because Pamela didn't have permission to sell the items.
Goldin has asked a federal judge in Camden, N.J., for permission to go ahead with the auction. Bryant asked a state judge in California to prevent the sale, the AP reported.
According to the Philadelphia Enquirer, Kobe Bryant specifically mentioned the Teen Choice Award items in a filing Wednesday at the U.S. District Court in Camden, N.J.
It was last seen by me in my personal residence," he wrote. "I do not know how my mother or Goldin obtained possession of this award but it was without my permission."
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