The sprawling saga of the M. Knoedler & Co. Gallery forgery scandal is approaching a full decade since the storied gallery closed abruptly in 2011 (fuller background further below). The last pending civil suit related to the case is now headed for trial in July after the U.S. District Court denied a motion for summary judgment by the gallery’s shareholders that argued that they could not be responsible for the company’s liability. Judge Paul G. Gardephe of the Southern District of New York ruled that there were factual disputes on whether those shareholders indeed could be responsible for alter ego liability that can only be resolved at a trial. The court did award Defendant Michael Hammer summary judgment on the plaintiffs’ fraud, fraudulent concealment, aiding and abetting fraud, aiding and abetting fraudulent concealment, conspiracy to commit fraud, and conspiracy to commit fraudulent concealment, RICO, and RICO conspiracy claims.
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Topics:
Ann Freedman,
Jackson Pollock,
Robert Motherwell,
Southern District of New York,
RICO,
Glafira Rosales,
M. Knoedler & Co.,
Abstract Expressionist,
Gardephe,
piercing the corporate veil,
Monsanto,
Roundup,
Michael Hammer,
8-31,
Knoedler LLC,
alter ego
As we reported back in February, the State Assembly and Senate are considering parallel versions of an amendment to the New York Arts & Cultural Affairs Law that would enhance protections for art authenticators by raising the burden of proof and providing for prevailing-party attorneys’ fees. Our view was, and remains, that the law would be an improvement on the status quo because it would protect the player that often has the least upside in an authentication but who may find herself the target of the disappointed party’s wrath.
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Topics:
Donn Zaretsky,
Andy Warhol Foundation,
Art in America,
Daniel Grant,
New York State Assembly,
authentication,
Tracy Zwick,
American Rule,
Bill No. A09016,
Art Law Day,
New York Observer,
clear and convincing evidence,
Wolfgang Beltracchi,
Art Law Committee,
Chagall Committee,
Appraisers Association of America,
Keith Haring Foundation,
New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law,
New York City Bar Association,
authenticator,
M. Knoedler & Co.,
Chagall,
Senate Bill No. S06794
The New York Senate Standing Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation has unanimously endorsed Senate Bill No. S06794. The Committee was no doubt moved by yesterday’s sought-after Art Law Report endorsement. . . .
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Topics:
Andy Warhol Foundation,
New York State Assembly,
authentication,
Bill No. A09016,
clear and convincing evidence,
Appraisal,
Wolfgang Beltracchi,
Art Law Committee,
Keith Haring Foundation,
New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law,
New York City Bar Association,
authenticator,
M. Knoedler & Co.,
Senate Bill No. S06794
It was first reported at the Appraisers Association of America’s Art Law Day in November, 2013 that the New York City Bar Association’s Art Law Committee had drafted a proposed revision to New York’s Art and Cultural Affairs Law to address the rights of authenticators. That proposal, publicized a month later, has now become an actual bill introduced in the New York State Assembly, as Senate Bill No. S06794 and Assembly Bill No. A09016. The bills were then referred to their respective committees for further deliberation.
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Topics:
Andy Warhol Foundation,
New York State Assembly,
authentication,
American Rule,
Bill No. A09016,
Art Law Day,
clear and convincing evidence,
Appraisal,
Wolfgang Beltracchi,
Art Law Committee,
Chagall Committee,
Appraisers Association of America,
Keith Haring Foundation,
New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law,
New York City Bar Association,
authenticator,
M. Knoedler & Co.,
Chagall,
Senate Bill No. S06794
For 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 the scandal.
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Topics:
Andy Warhol Foundation,
Daedalus Foundation,
William K. Rashabaum,
Forgery,
Knoedler,
Ann Freedman,
Wolfgang Belctracchi,
Marco Grassi,
Jackson Pollock,
Robert Motherwell,
Patricia Cohen,
Litigation,
Glafira Rosales,
New York Times,
M. Knoedler & Co.,
connoisseurship,
New York Magazine,
National Public Radio
