A New Jersey sports memorabilia seller is taking Whatnot to court.
Hall of Fame Sports Memorabilia, Inc. (HOFSM) has filed a verified complaint against Whatnot in the Superior Court of New Jersey. The accusation? A biased, inconsistent account suspension — and a dispute process that went nowhere.
The Setup
HOFSM operated an established seller account on Whatnot, running live card breaks and surprise product sales.
The company says it followed the rules. When Whatnot updated its policies around "Surprise Sets," "Card Breaks," and "Professionally Sealed Surprise Products," HOFSM adjusted accordingly. When questions came up, they proactively reached out for clarification.
Whatnot permanently suspended the account anyway.
The Core Claim: Selective Enforcement
Here's where it gets interesting.
HOFSM says other sellers are still running the exact same formats — multi-day mystery box streams, jersey breaks, surprise product sales — without any consequences. The complaint includes a screenshot from the Whatnot app showing those sellers live and active.
It gets worse. HOFSM filed multiple user reports flagging other sellers for "Non-compliant Surprise Products." Every single one was closed. No action taken.
Whatnot publicly says its enforcement is "progressive and proportional." HOFSM says the reality doesn't match.
The Arbitration Problem
This is the part that pushed the case into court.
HOFSM followed Whatnot's required dispute process. They filed arbitration through the American Arbitration Association. They paid all fees.
Then Whatnot allegedly stopped paying. Multiple times. Despite demands and deadline extensions, the company failed to cover mandatory arbitrator deposits. Arbitration stalled. HOFSM had no forum to resolve the dispute.
So they went to court.
What HOFSM Wants
Restore the account. Stop the ongoing harm. Preserve both sides' rights until the case is properly resolved.
Developing story. We'll keep you posted.
