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Grossman LLP Defeats Summary Judgment in Securities Fraud Case Arising from Ticket-Resale Ponzi Scheme
06/10/2022
In a major win for investors with losses totaling over $5.5 million, Grossman LLP has defeated summary judgment in a securities fraud case arising from “a Ponzi scheme built on a false promise to buy and resell tickets to high-profile events like the Broadway musical ‘Hamilton.’”
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California Federal Court Weighs Copyright Questions Related To Interactive Digital Art Installations
05/31/2022
An infringement case pending in a California federal court raises some interesting questions about how copyright law applies in the context of interactive art installations—an important topic in an art market that is increasingly exploring these innovative forms and mediums.
ATTORNEY : Kate Lucas
CATEGORIES : Art Exhibitions, Art Galleries, Art Market, Copyright, Legal Developments, Trademark -
Grossman LLP Wins Summary Judgment In Dispute Over Chagall Painting Caught Up In Chowaiki Scandal
05/09/2022
In a major win, Grossman LLP has obtained summary judgment for our client in a long-running title dispute involving a Marc Chagall painting that was part of the fraudulent schemes of disgraced art dealer Ezra Chowaiki.
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Philbrick Case Sparks Discussion of Sentencing For Art Crimes
04/18/2022
The criminal case involving disgraced art dealer Inigo Philbrick has now progressed to the sentencing phase, where a judge will decide what punishment is appropriate for Philbrick. In the process, the court will likely consider larger questions about how the justice system should approach sentencing for art crimes, particularly in light of a string of high-profile art fraud prosecutions in recent years.
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Warhol Foundation Asks Supreme Court To Weigh In On Goldsmith Dispute
After Second Circuit Rejects Its Fair Use Defense01/27/2022Since 2017, we’ve been following the federal lawsuit between the Andy Warhol Foundation and photographer Lynn Goldsmith; you can read our previous posts about it here, here, and here. A few months ago, a revised opinion from the Second Circuit added further complexity to the story. And now, the Warhol Foundation has asked the Supreme Court to give its opinion on whether the fair use defense protects the Foundation from Goldsmith’s copyright infringement claims.
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Art Law Year in Review
12/16/2021CATEGORIES : Art Galleries, Art Market, Fine Art, Forgeries, Legal Developments, Money Laundering, Stolen Artwork
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Grossman LLP Obtains Complete Dismissal With Prejudice of Lawsuit by Former NBCUniversal Head Alleging Sale of Rothko Forgery
08/17/2021This week, the Grossman LLP team obtained a complete dismissal of a lawsuit filed by NBCUniversal executive Ron Meyer against art dealer Susan Seidel. Meyer’s claims focused on a 2001 art deal involving a painting, purportedly by famed abstract expressionist Mark Rothko, which turned out to be a forgery.
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In Suit Over George Washington Portrait by Gilbert Stuart, Grossman LLP Obtains Dismissal of Collector’s Claims Against Hirschl & Adler Galleries07/28/2021 -
Clothing Brand Says It Will Phase Out Logo Amid Controversy With Street Artist, But Questions About “Fluid Trademarks” Remain
07/21/2021
In early 2021, the street artist known as Futura filed a lawsuit against the North Face Apparel Corp. (“NFA”) for unfair competition, alleging that NFA illegally adopted Futura’s iconic circular atom for its outerwear line called “FUTURELIGHT.” Recently, NFA issued a public statement regarding the lawsuit, and NFA has committed to discontinuingthe use of their FUTURELIGHT logo out of deference to Futura. However, the lawsuit remains unresolved and involves novel legal issues that could affect the landscape of trademark law.
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Another Epilogue In the Long Saga Of A Looted Pissarro Painting
06/09/2021
The long-running dispute over a Pissarro painting has come to a close—yet again—after years of legal wrangling in multiple forums, and after a complex settlement arrangement collapsed in spectacular fashion. As is sadly the case in many stories involving Nazi-era art litigation, there is no dispute that the artwork at issue here was outright looted by Nazi forces in Nazi-occupied France, yet the artwork will not return to the family from whom it was wrested.
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On Appeal, Second Circuit Reverses Fair Use Ruling In Dispute Over Andy Warhol Artwork
03/30/2021
Since 2017, we’ve been following the federal lawsuit between the Andy Warhol Foundation and photographer Lynn Goldsmith. In mid-2019, a federal judge in New York dismissed Goldsmith’s copyright infringement claims against the Foundation, ruling that a series of Warhol artworks based on an image taken by the photographer were protected as fair use. But now, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed that decision, in an opinion that has potentially wide-reaching impacts for the Foundation, for appropriation art generally, and for anyone in the art world who is interested in the ongoing question of how courts handle the difficult concept of fair use.
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Supreme Court Rules Against Jewish Art Dealers’ Heirs In Suit To Recover the “Guelph Treasure,” Allegedly the Subject of a Nazi-Era Forced Sale
02/15/2021
Just a few weeks ago, we wrote about some of the Supreme Court’s most significant art-related cases from 2020, and noted that we were awaiting the Court’s decision in a long-running dispute over the so-called Guelph Treasure. In early February, the Court issued its ruling, dealing the plaintiffs, who are the heirs of a consortium of Jewish art dealers, a major blow in their attempt to seek redress for their ancestors’ loss.
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U.S. Enacts the “CASE Act,” Providing An Alternative, Small-Claims Venue For Copyright Enforcement
02/12/2021
At the very end of 2020, Congress enacted new legislation that will provide a streamlined process for adjudicating small-claim copyright infringement cases. The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020 (the “CASE Act”), included as part of the COVID-19 Relief Bill, establishes a new Copyright Claims Board (“CCB”) to oversee claims of copyright infringement that do not exceed $30,000. Some see this is an efficient solution for those seeking to adjudicate minor copyright disputes, while others view this legislation as a potential avenue for attacks on everyday internet users who may lack the resources to track and opt out of these proceedings.
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As A New Year Begins, A Look Back At Some of the Supreme Court’s Important Art-Related Rulings, Non-Rulings, and Pending Cases from 2020
01/14/2021
As we leave 2020 behind, we’ve put together a brief update on some of the Supreme Court’s most significant 2020 decisions that have implications for the art world, as well as a couple of cases that have been argued but not yet decided.
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Grossman LLP Obtains Second Circuit Affirmance of Summary Judgment for Manhattan Gallery Concerning Calder Artwork
01/04/2021
At the beginning of the year, Grossman LLP achieved a summary-judgment victory on behalf of a Manhattan gallery in a title dispute concerning an Alexander Calder stabile. On December 15, 2020, Judd Grossman argued the appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and on December 23, the Court issued a decision affirming summary judgment in the gallery’s favor.
CATEGORY : Legal Developments -
Grossman LLP Secures Win After 3-Day Trial in Lawsuit for Return of Stolen Painting
12/15/2020
A painting by an American modernist artist that was stolen from a major corporate art collection over thirty-years ago and replaced with a skilled forgery will be returning home after more than two years of litigation.
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Grossman LLP Staves Off Dismissal on Behalf of Italian Art Book Publisher in Contract Action Against Photographer James Nachtwey
12/10/2020
At the conclusion of oral argument on December 2, 2020, Commercial Division Justice O. Peter Sherwood upheld Plaintiff Contrasto’s breach-of-contract claims by denying Defendant James Nachtwey’s motion to dismiss the complaint.
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Judge Rejects Cady Noland’s Final Attempt To Sue Over The “Restoration” of Her Work
06/04/2020
This blog has written before about acclaimed conceptual artist Cady Noland, who has a reputation for being particular about how her works are installed, maintained, exhibited, and sold. As our previous posts explain, she has even, on more than one occasion, disavowed an artwork she created, prompting litigation. Now, a federal judge has issued a ruling in Noland’s most recent legal skirmish, dismissing her attempt to bring copyright infringement claims related to the restoration of one of her artworks.
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Upper East Side Gallery Sues Landlord, Claiming It Lawfully Terminated Lease After COVID-19 Forced Closure
05/27/2020
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 and the ensuing restrictions on businesses, there has been much discussion about whether, when, and how commercial tenants can break their leases or be relieved from rent-payment obligations when they are unable to conduct business on leased premises. Last week, a Manhattan art gallery sued its landlord for declaring a default under the lease when the gallery failed to make its April rent payment, arguing that the lease was lawfully terminated on April 1 in light of the executive orders that restrict the operation of New York’s non-essential businesses.
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Lawsuit By Noted Artist Against Her Former Gallery Serves As a Reminder of the Important Duties Galleries Owe To Artists
05/15/2020Abstract artist Howardena Pindell has sued several individuals and entities related to the G.R. N’Namdi Galleries, which, beginning in the late 1980s, represented her work in spaces located in Detroit, Chicago, New York, and Miami. The case raises a host of legal issues that are, unfortunately, all too common in the realm of artist-gallery relationships.
Art Law Blog