“All we want are the facts, ma’am.”

That’s what Sgt. Joe Friday used to say on the early TV series famously known as Dragnet. The Los Angeles Police detective didn’t concern himself with the inconsequential. He wanted what was important to a case – the “facts” – and it’s the facts that all of us should focus on in the significant matters that we handle.

Too often we get sidetracked with part of an issue and fail to see the big picture – the view that shows all we need to know before we can make a proper judgment.

The auctioneer telephoned me to ask me what a “public auction” is. I could have answered that it’s an auction open to the public, but I knew that wouldn’t satisfy whatever it was that was concerning him. There was obviously more to this than he had revealed and I know that the correct way to respond to matters like that is to ask additional questions.

“I don’t understand the basis for your question,” I said, “so I need more information before I can answer you.” 

“A judge said an auction has to be conducted on the courthouse steps to be a public auction, and I have never heard such a thing and neither have any of the other auctioneers that I’ve talked to about it,” the man said.

“We think it’s the craziest thing we ever heard of. Do you agree with us?” 

All I did was give this fellow a simple cue that I needed more information and he served up a new and substantial fact – this issue originated with a judge. Still, what was on the table was incomplete for any meaningful analysis.

“What is this about?” I asked the auctioneer.

“A lawyer wants to hire me to do an auction for an estate. The judge said I would have to do a public auction which would require me to do the sale on the steps of the courthouse,” the man added.

The picture of what was going on here was developing, but we still had a ways to go.

“So who did the judge tell this to?” I asked.

It turned out that the judge had said what he did during a court hearing that the lawyer, who was also the executor of the estate, had requested the court hold about the proposed auction. A little more inquiry brought forth the additional fact that the judge had even committed his statement to writing and the auctioneer had a copy of that paper. I asked him to read it to me and he did.

The paper was a court order entered by the judge. It provided for an auction of the assets of the estate that the executor wanted to sell.

The order went on to require a “public auction” be conducted and that is routine in matters such as this. The few lots involved were to be sold to the highest, respective bidders. The judge then set the date and time when the auction would be conducted and he pegged the location for the event as the front steps of the courthouse. With regard to the auction itself, that was it. Nowhere did the order hold that an auction is not a “public auction” if it is conducted somewhere other than on the steps of a courthouse. Instead, the judge simply listed that as the location from which to conduct this public auction.

The auctioneer and the colleagues that he had consulted about this matter had gotten worked up about an issue that didn’t exist. The judge had made no earthshaking ruling about what a “public auction” is and is not.

He simply entered a routine court order that allowed for an auction of some estate assets and specified certain particulars for the event. That was it and there was nothing that should have upset this auctioneer. Focusing on all of the facts would have revealed this and avoided any stomach churning. 

If an auctioneer wants to be hired to conduct an auction, he must comply with the terms required by his principal, the seller. That is fundamental agency law. In this case, the principal was the executor but, since a court was involved, the judge was the supreme authority and the auctioneer was legally bound to obey the court’s order.  

Here’s a practice pointer for auctioneers. If you are trying to land an auction that is under the jurisdiction of a court, quickly learn the identities and roles of the players and all you can about what must occur to have an auction approved and an auctioneer hired. Then get involved in the process. You want to become a trusted advisor for the attorney most closely associated with the prospective seller. 

You should also offer to testify at any court hearing that would consider the auction and establish the terms for conducting it – like the hearing previously mentioned. As an expert on auctions, you are in the best position to identify the issues ahead and provide practical and economical answers. By doing so, you will build credibility with the decision makers. You might also have the opportunity to steer the event (including your commission and costs) in the direction that you see as being most suitable. Sharing your expertise is a valuable service that can help you get business, help those who give you the business, and help everyone involved realize the achievement of their objectives – including yours.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Steve Proffitt may write to him in care of this publication.