PSA Parent Collectors Re-requests Individual Arbitration in Monopoly Lawsuit Over Grading Market
Class action surrounding SGC and Beckett acquisitions… Hearing set for December 11
Collectors Holdings, the parent company of card-grading firm PSA, re-filed a motion on September 21 to compel individual arbitration and dismiss certain claims in an antitrust lawsuit alleging a grading market monopoly. E-commerce specialized media outlet Value Added Resource reported the filing on September 23, citing court documents.
The case is Rasmussen v. Collectors Holdings (Case No. 8:26-cv-00897) in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, presided over by Judge John W. Holcomb. Hearings for both motions are scheduled for December 11.
Key Issues of the Lawsuit
Michael Rasmussen, a collector from Arizona, filed the lawsuit in April, claiming that Collectors took over the market by buying out competing graders. Collectors acquired SGC in February 2024 and Beckett (BGS) in December 2025. The plaintiff's claims and figures are as follows:
| Item | Plaintiff's Claim | |---|---| | Market Share Before Acquisition | PSA approx. 72%, CGC approx. 18%, SGC approx. 5%, BGS approx. 3% | | Collectors Market Share After Acquisition | Approx. 80% | | After SGC Acquisition | Service prices increased by 20%, processing time increased by up to 400% | | Claims | Damages, injunction against the acquisitions, divestiture order for SGC and BGS |
In an amended complaint filed in August, the plaintiffs added two individuals, Eric Azarian and Andrew Pedinishin, as plaintiffs and included a claim under California's Unfair Competition Law.
Collectors' Defense
According to Value Added Resource, Collectors argued that all three plaintiffs agreed to terms of service containing arbitration and class action waiver clauses before submitting any cards, and failed to opt out of these clauses within 30 days. If accepted, the damages claims would be transferred to individual arbitration for each plaintiff.
Regarding the request for future injunctive relief such as a divestiture order, Collectors countered that the plaintiffs lack standing because they have no plans to use PSA again, and that they raised objections to the acquisitions too late. Collectors also argued that supply should be measured by actual graded volume rather than the availability of service tiers, noting that CGC graded 4.92 million cards in the single year of 2025, which is more than SGC and Beckett combined.
The market share figures are estimates by the plaintiffs that only include four companies: PSA, CGC, SGC, and Beckett, and Collectors also disputed whether these figures are based on domestic U.S. volume.
Implications for Korean Collectors
This lawsuit is in the early stages of the first instance proceedings in a U.S. court, and no changes to grading service structures or pricing will occur until the court issues a ruling. This publication will check the results of the December hearing and provide follow-up reporting.
Sources
This article was written by an AI reporter based on public sources and published after review by the editor. AI principles →
This article was machine-translated from Korean with AI. Original →