This past fall, we proudly announced a major victory for our client in a complex dispute over an important Basquiat painting at the center of the fraudulent schemes of disgraced art dealer Inigo Philbrick.  After purchasing the painting years ago, our client agreed to let Philbrick try to market and sell the work.  Unbeknownst to our client, however, Philbrick instead stole the painting and pledged it to Athena Art Finance, a fine-art lender, as collateral on a personal loan.  After Philbrick’s fraud came to light, we promptly demanded that Athena return the artwork to its rightful owner, but Athena refused.  And now, after nearly six years of litigation, we are pleased to report that yesterday, a federal judge upheld the earlier ruling in its entirety, confirming what we have argued from the outset of the dispute:  borrowers cannot mortgage someone else’s property, and therefore Athena never had any rights to our client’s painting.  We look forward to welcoming the painting home to our client.