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
When Judge Thomas P. Griesa of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan) held Argentina in contempt on Friday for the South American nation’s default on bond payments, few people likely perked up with attention about the possible implication for art restitution. But with a bit of indulgence, the connection is more important than it might first seem.
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Topics:
Banco de la Nación,
Library,
Judge Thomas P. Griesa,
Bank of New York Mellon,
Argentina,
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act,
Rebbe,
Southern District of New York,
Russian Federation,
FSIA,
Lubavitch,
Restitution,
A bond,
Foreign Sovereign Immunities,
default,
Chabad,
Paul E. Singer,
Art Law Report
