Throughout the Detroit bankruptcy and the attendant speculation about what role, if any, the collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts that is owned by the city should play, a parallel parlor game has been to try to guess what Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr’s endgame and motivation really was. He has dropped hints about the… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Litigation
Subscribe to Litigation RSS FeedBooks of Note: “The Art Collecting Legal Handbook” Reviewed
Posted in Art Fairs, Auctions, Immunity from Seizure Act, Legislation, Litigation, Moral Rights, Museums, Publications, Restitution, World War IIIn the course of our work here, I like to call out books and articles that I feel are worthy of praise, usually the in the course of a particular post or issue. After a too-long stay on the corner of my desk awaiting time to read it, I finally finished a book published last… Continue Reading
Baltimore Museum of Art Wins Title to “Flea Market Renoir” Painting
Posted in Litigation, MuseumsThe Baltimore Sun reports that U.S. District Judge Judge Leonie Brinkema allowed the Baltimore Museum of Art’s motion for summary judgment at today’s hearing in Alexandria, Virginia. That means that the BMA is the owner of the painting, not claimant Martha Fuqua, who argued that she bought the painting at a 2009 flea market in… Continue Reading
Hearing Tomorrow on Baltimore Museum of Art Claims to “Flea Market Renoir”
Posted in Authentication, Litigation, MuseumsJudge Leonie Brinkema will hold a hearing tomorrow morning in Alexandria, Virginia on the Baltimore Museum of Art’s motion for summary judgment to claim ownership to an 1879 Renoir painting Paysage Bords de Seine that the museum maintains was stolen in 1951. Claimant Martha Fuqua filed a motion to strike the BMA’s reply to her… Continue Reading
Flea Market Renoir Battle Focuses on the Hearsay Rule
Posted in Authentication, Litigation, MuseumsThe last remaining claimants for the 1879 painting by Pierre Auguste Renoir, Paysage bords de Seine that surfaced in the possession of a woman who claimed to have found it at a flea market, have filed summary judgment papers seeking final disposition of the case without need of a trial. The Baltimore Museum of Art has… Continue Reading
5Pointz Not of “Recognized Stature” Under the Visual Artists Rights Act? Court Takes the Narrow View and Paintings are Whitewashed
Posted in Copyright, LitigationAmidst all the coverage over famed graffiti artist Banksy’s recent “residence” in New York and questions about how artistic license would fare against trespassing and graffiti laws (short answer: poorly), another graffiti case in New York this month has explored the reach of the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA). Ultimately, the law did… Continue Reading
Met Wins Partial Dismissal of Admissions Policy Lawsuit Over Lease and City Laws
Posted in Litigation, MuseumsA New York Supreme Court judge dismissed the claims filed against the Metropolitan Museum of Art over whether its admissions policy was inconsistent with city law and the museum’s charter. Lost in many of the headlines, however, is that the entire lawsuit was not dismissed; another claim for misrepresentation is, for the moment, still alive. The… Continue Reading
Knoedler Forgery Cases Foretell New Battleground Over Art Dealer Diligence
Posted in Connoisseurship, Forgery, Knoedler, LitigationFor more than two years now, the collapse of the M. Knoedler & Co. Gallery in New York amidst allegations of forged paintings by well-known 20th Century artists has sent ripples in all directions: legal, art historical, legislative, and connoisseurship. Several recent developments have drawn focus to the likely litigation fallout among those affected by… Continue Reading
Russia Threatens Lawsuit Against U.S. Library of Congress in Further Retaliation for Chabad Sanctions Order
Posted in Foreign Sovereign Immunities, LitigationIn a story that gets more unusual with every new development, the Russian Foreign Ministry has reportedly recommended filing a lawsuit, in Russia, against the United States Library of Congress in response to last month’s contempt sanctions order by the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia arising out of Russia’s refusal to obey… Continue Reading
Lawsuit Claims Metropolitan Museum’s Voluntary Admissions Policy is Deceptive
Posted in Litigation, MuseumsA complaint filed against the Metropolitan Museum of Art over its admissions fee policy is gaining widespread coverage. Although the headlines center on the plaintiffs’ allegations of fraud, Theodore Grunewald and Patricia Nicholson (the two plaintiffs) also put forward several other legal theories. The Met stands in Central Park as part of an agreement with the… Continue Reading
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