Mo. attorney general obtains restraining order against St. Louis auctioneer

Attorney General Chris Koster has obtained a restraining order against Ivey-Selkirk Auctioneers, prohibiting the troubled St. Louis auction house from conducting further business pending an investigation and civil lawsuit, Koster’s office said Monday.

In the past year, the 180-year-old business has faced more than a half-dozen lawsuits and customer complaints over alleged slow payment and, in some cases, non-payment, according to the St. Louis Business Journal.

The attorney general's office has received 24 complaints, a spokesman told the business journal.

Since the start of the year, the auction house and owner Malcolm Ivey have been named in at least seven lawsuits.

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