Boy Sued Over Baseball Card Ethical Dilemma

Memo:
The initial decisions of our group on the Nolan Ryan baseball card case were split evenly on whether or not the care should be returned. There were 2 members (Amy Plastow and Darrin Neil) who believed Brian Wezesinski should return the card to Joe Irmen, while 3 members (Alyshya Cubean, Kelly Brudvik, and Madeline Wade) felt Brian should make the decision to keep the card. The final person in our group was on the fence thinking that morally Brian should give the card back but that legally Brian has the right to keep the card (Joseph Hanley). In the first discussion on Tuesday, November 7th we discussed everyone original decisions we walked through everyone’s answers and opinions on the ethics worksheet. Our discussions weren’t very constructive

Joe Irmen. At twelve-years old Brian bought a Nolan Ryan baseball card from Irmen’s card shop; Ball-Mart. The card had an estimated value of $1,200, but he purchased it for $12. While this might seem like an innocent mistake, Joe believes that to be false. Not only is the Nolan Ryan baseball card in question in near perfect condition, but Brian is an avid baseball card collector with an estimated collection of 40,000-50,000 cards and was likely aware of the card’s value. The card was sold by an employee from the jewelry store who was uneducated about the actual worth of the cards. Joe tried numerous ways to get the card back including making posters with Brian’s information and offering Brian a $100 reward to give the card back. The ethical issue is whether Brian should keep the card or if it must be returned to the shop owner. The group identified the stakeholders as Brian, Joe, the community, Brian’s parents, the lawyers, and the store clerk who sold Brian the card. The main stakeholders being Brian and Joe as the outcome affects them the most. Joe, because if he loses the case he will lose $1,188 while Brian, in the end, is the person who has to make the choice whether to return the card or not. The community is also a large stakeholder as this could affect the way Ball-mart or any other stores conduct business in the