Christie’s auction house is being sued after a fan claims he was sold a dud Star Trek item which the actor who played android Data, Brent Spiner, later said was not the real item.

Ted Moustakis from New Jersey paid $6000 for a poker visor at a Christie’s auction, which Data the android, was meant to have worn in a poker-playing scene in a Next Generation episode.

Brent Spiner is said to have told Moustakis at a Star Trek convention that he had already sold the real item himself in a private sale.

Christie’s spokesman Rik Pike stood behind the authenticity of the auction and said the case had no merit.

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan, demands millions of dollars in punitive damages and a refund for the visor and two other items Moustakis bought at the 2006 auction: a table that was part of a set on “The Next Generation” and a uniform that was in Data’s wardrobe. Moustakis said he paid $6,600 for the table and $11,400 for the uniform.

“They defrauded collectors, fans, honest people,” said Moustakis’ lawyer, Richard Borzouye. “It’s negligent misrepresentation.”

Posted: 12|30|07 at 12:04 pm. Filed under: US News.