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this court. The court specifically condemns the following: using “quiet periods” which welcome
and entice bid collusion; allowing bidders to leave not only the auction room but the auction
premises; accepting telephone bids; and failing to record the auction proceedings.
An auction should move quickly and be a series of competing bids. If bids cease, then the
hammer should fall after a final notice. Taking a break or allowing for a “quiet period” interrupts
the flow of the process and allows those present, unless properly monitored, to engage in
unacceptable public auction behavior.
Bidders should never be allowed to leave the immediate auction area. In this day of cell
phones, live streaming, email, and text communication, no one should ever have to leave an auction
room to get instructions from a client or from a superior. The revolving door in this auction venue
was a petri dish for bidders wishing to engage in questionable auction behavior.
Telephone bids should be used sparingly. The communication between the auctioneer who
is on the telephone with a bidder, to the exclusion of those attending the auction in person, creates
an appearance of impropriety. Using the Internet is acceptable if the auction is solely an Internet
auction, or as in this case, an Internet auction followed by a live auction. Still, auctioneers must
be careful with using an Internet auction. All bidders must be visible to each other with ultimate
transparency.
Finally, always record the sale. Even the most amateur auctioneer, including a foreclosure
trustee under a power of sale, generally records a sale with active bidders. Of all the mistakes Iron
Horse made, this fundamental error is the most incredulous. The court can find no excuse for
failing to record the sale. If Iron Horse wants to be employed as a professional in this court, it
needs to repair the existing recording equipment or purchase a new system. Even if the equipment
failed the day of the sale, Iron Horse surely had a contingency plan. Most cell phones have audio-
Case 14-00073-5-SWH Doc 593 Filed 09/21/18 Entered 09/21/18 15:21:47 Page 6 of 7