Thomas Kline for The Wall Street Journal on US v. Wally

Lots of writing has seen the light and much more will come out following the $19 million settlement of U.S. v Portrait of Wally. If you missed an important article by Thomas R. Kline, a partner at Andrews Kurth LLP and famed art lawyer, here is the opening paragraph:

"In the decades following World War II, Rudolf Leopold was a larger-than-life figure on the Vienna art scene. He was known particularly for "dedication and ruthlessness" in building his art collection, as an obituary in London's Telegraph resonantly put it. Leopold died on June 29 at age 85 and, within less than a month, historic litigation concerning a painting from the Austrian museum bearing his name was settled, just as if the terms had been worked out in advance, awaiting only his departure from this earth."

Read the full article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703294904575385543744550822.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_LifestyleArtEnt

YouTube copyright case in Spain -- Google cleared

"Google has been cleared in a YouTube copyright-infringement case filed by a Spanish broadcaster.

In its lawsuit against the search giant, Spanish broadcaster Telecinco claimed that YouTube should be held responsible for people who upload videos that infringe on Telecinco's copyrights.

But a federal court in Madrid rejected those claims today, ruling that it is the responsibility of copyright holders to identify such content and inform YouTube if it infringes on their copyrights."

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20017370-38.html

Arm's length transaction? Seller beware?

"Art sellers have filed a flurry of lawsuits over the past few years after selling pieces for relatively modest amounts, only to see the buyers quickly sell them again for much more.

"In 2008, the estate of a Canadian woman, Lorette Jolles Shefner, filed a lawsuit in U.S. district court in New York against Maurice Tuchman and Esti Dunow, two experts on the French painter Chaim Soutine, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The estate claimed the experts had misled Ms. Shefner into selling them a 1923 Soutine painting, titled "Piece of Beef," for $1 million in 2004, and then resold it to the museum a few months later for $2 million. As part of a settlement, the National Gallery sold the painting back to the now-deceased woman's estate, and the two experts paid the estate $210,000 without admitting wrongdoing.

"Last year, the auction house Phillips de Pury canceled a sale of a group of prints by the photographer Diane Arbus, which were expected to bring several hundred thousand dollars, after a lawsuit was filed against a Philadelphia art dealer in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., by a memorabilia collector who claimed he had been led to sell the photographs for $3,500 in 2003 to the dealer. The suit was settled out of court without an admission of wrongdoing."

Read the full story here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703292704575393113592622480.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsFifth

Where does Tax Law meet Art Law meet T&E law? In museums perhaps?

If you are thinking of being a tax lawyer, you might find this interesting. If you are not thinking of being a tax lawyer, think again.

Take a look at two very interesting articles on inheritance tax and tax reform.

1. "If people begin to get used to the idea of no or low inheritance taxes, it does take a tool out of my toolbox," said Houston Museum of Fine Arts director Peter Marzio. That tool is the lure of reducing an heir's tax liability with the deduction that a gift of money or artworks to the museum could provide.

The current [2010] year is an anxious one for museums and all other nonprofit organizations and institutions around the country, since there is no inheritance tax for 2010 because Congress failed to pass legislation to reform the transfer tax system last year."

Read the full story here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-grant/estate-tax-law-uncertaint_b_530217.html

2.
" TURNING down an inheritance may seem to be an alien concept. But with the estate tax in flux, this process, called disclaiming, can provide needed flexibility. People who disclaim are generally treated as if they had died before the person from whom they are inheriting. The assets then go to the individual or trust next in line under the estate plan. Or, if the plan makes no such provision, assets are distributed according to state law.

Historically, lawyers have recommended disclaimers to repair estate planning oversights that bring negative tax consequences — as when parents left money to already affluent adult children. In such a case, the children could disclaim, so the inheritance would go their own children instead, rather than facing the possibility that this money might be taxed in their own estates."

Read the full story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/your-money/estate-planning/18DISCLAIM.html

Largest Graffiti Tag in the World in New York City?

Have you ever noticed the thin orange line on many streets throughout the East and West Villages?
This just might be the largest graffiti tag in the world.

Read more and see an image in the New York Time's article, "An Artist’s Alfresco John Hancock":

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/18/arts/design/18momo.html

Phillips de Pury & Co. to sell art works of the now-defunct, Dreier LLP law firm

When Dreier LLP filed for Chapter 11 protection in bankruptcy court in Manhattan, claiming to have liabilities tallying between $10 million and $50 million, they knew they would have to part with their collection of 20th Century Master prints. Credits waiting satisfaction include, landlord of 499 Park Ave. ($908k); West Publishing ($441k); American Express ($323k); PR firm Van Prooyen Greenfield ($274k); ABM Janitorial Services ($89k); and AT&T ($81k).

The Dreier collection includes blue chip artists of the 1970’s and 1980’s and will go under the hammer of Phillips de Pury & Co this fall.

Sources:
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202429441139;
http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=40961

Paint by Con -- Co-Owner of Missing Corot Painting Charged with Fraud

Thomas Doyle was arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud in the dealings over a century-and-a-half-old painting by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot entitled "Portrait of a Girl."
. . .
A criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in Manhattan said Doyle convinced the investor to pay him the $880,000 for the circa 1857 painting, which he was supposed to then buy for $1.1 million. Authorities said Doyle had already bought the painting for $775,000 and pocketed an extra $105,000 by charging the investor too much.
. . .
The FBI began investigating after the investor, Kristyn Trudgeon, filed a lawsuit alleging that she had been a victim of fraud in the disappearance of the painting when a man entrusted with helping to sell it claimed he lost the art in New York City in July when he was intoxicated. The lawsuit has since been withdrawn.

Source: http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=40669

Cardozo sponsors International Law and Film Conference

Cardozo School of Law and NYU with the participation of the Institut d’histoire du temps présent (CNRS, Paris) will host:

"Making History in the Courtroom:
From the Soviet Show Trials to the Khmer Rouge Trials"
Wednesday-Friday, September 15 - 17. Events at Cardozo School of Law and NYU.

Cardozo Professors Peter Goodrich and Christian Delage, with the help of Michelle Feldman, have organized an international symposium hosting world-renowned speakers that will explore the intersection of film and law.
Events include:

Thursday:
"Show Trials and the Denial of Justice"
"Defendants without Defense, and under the Gaze of the Camera"
"The Crimes of the Khmer Rouge: Images of the Prison S-21 as Evidence"
"Recapturing Memory and Justice through Film"

Friday:
"The Courtroom as a Place of Reconciliation?"
"International or Local Justice?"
"Pleading Guilty: The Case of Duch in the Khmer Rouge Trials"

There is no need to register for any of the sessions.
For more details, please download this powerpoint.

Antiques seized in Iran

According to http://www.presstv.ir/detail/141569.html, police in Iran have arrested two smugglers who were trying to illegally sell antiques, including two ancient bodies of a king and a goddess belonging to 4000 BCE.

California Bill Could Alter the Restitution of Nazi-Looted Art

On August 30, 2010, a bill was approved by California lawmakers allowing for the extension of the amount of time during which citizens in that state can sue museums, galleries, and auction houses for the recovery of stolen works of art.

...

"The incensed members of the California Association of Museums, however, believe that the bill is aimed at affecting the outcome of two pending lawsuits — one of which pits a California man against a Madrid museum for the return of a Pissarro painting his grandmother was forced to sell to the Nazis in 1939 — and have described the legislation in a letter to one of the bill’s sponsors as "unnecessary, unfair, unconstitutional, and disruptive" of property rights."

Read the full article: http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/35663/california-bill-could-alter-the-restitution-of-nazi-looted-art/

Controversy over Michelangelo's "David"

A brewing controversy over whether Michelangelo's "David," long considered a symbol of Florence, is owned by the city of Florence or the state of Italy was reported in yesterday's NY Times.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/world/europe/01david.html?_r=1