41. Saturday Auction. Barry, an auctioneer, was holding an auction on a Saturday morning. At the beginning of the auction, Barry announced that the auction was being held without reserve. Helen, Mary, and Chris were all in attendance. Helen saw an old cash register with a stuck drawer that she thought would look great in her den. The auctioneer put the cash register up for sale, noting that the drawer was stuck and that no one really knew what was inside. Helen bought it for $20. At the same auction, Mary saw a great deal on a used table. She bid $20 on it. No one else bid anything. Barry announced that $20 was clearly insufficient for the table, that it was worth much more than that, and that he was taking it out of the auction. Chris started bidding on a diamond ring for his girlfriend. He bid $2,000. Just as Barry was getting ready to say "Sold," Chris looked over at his girlfriend, decided that he was not sure about marriage, and leaped up yelling, "I revoke." Barry, however, immediately yelled "Sold." When she got it home and broke into it, Helen discovered that the cash register actually contained $5,000. Unfortunately, Helen had a teenage son named Tad who started bragging to his friends about the family's good fortune. Barry heard about what had happened and sued Helen for return of the $5,000. Mary sues Barry attempting to obtain possession of the table. Barry sues Chris attempting to enforce a contract for the sale of the engagement ring. In the lawsuit in which Barry sues Helen for return of the $5,000, which of the following is the most likely result?

Multiple Choice

• Barry will win because when an auction is held without reserve, the auctioneer is entitled to repossess any item at will.

• Barry will lose, but only because he was not the actual seller. He was only selling at auction for someone else. The seller, however, would win in an action against Helen.

• Barry would win because Helen made an insufficient offer.

• Helen will win, but only if she can show that Barry had knowledge that cash was in the drawer before he sold it.

• Helen will win because the auction was without reserve and she properly bid on and bought the cash register with everyone knowing that the cash drawer was stuck.