Legal Cases

A long-running complaint brought against the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts by the owner of a work twice denied by their authentication board has been granted class action status.

A LENGTHY police investigation has led to the jailing of a retired solicitor, convicted on charges linked to money laundering and efforts to sell a stolen £500,000 painting.

A DISPUTE between Lord Lloyd Webber and the HM Revenue and Customs over the purchase, with the aid of taxpayers' money, of J.W. Waterhouse's St Cecilia by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Art Foundation, has been settled out of court.

CHRISTIE’S have launched legal action against US Internet entrepreneur Halsey Minor. Minor took Christie’s to court last December, accusing the auction house of fraud and a number of other torts after pictures he consigned to Christie’s dealership Haunch of Venison in May 2008 were not returned “in a timely fashion” when they failed to sell.

EBAY have now added a London High Court victory against a claim from luxury brand L’Oréal to the one they gained in France last month.

THE tide has turned in favour of eBay in the legal war over the sale of counterfeit goods on their site after a French court backed them against L’Oreal.

BURRELLS Antique Desks have won their case against rival dealer Steve Campbell in a dispute over his use of their name to divert customers to his business via the internet.

A US picture dealer has pleaded guilty to falsifying business records while a director at New York’s Salander O’Reilly Galleries.

A LEGAL dispute in the US Federal court over auction guarantees could lead to a tightening of the terms and conditions under which they are issued.

A COUPLE dealing in antique desks have issued a warning over internet addresses after discovering that a rival was using their name to divert potential customers to his own website.

THE UK government has acceded to European Union rules which would see the extradition of suspects like antiquities dealer Malcolm Hay.

THE Greek courts have sentenced an English antiquities dealer to three years in jail after convicting him in his absence on charges linked to stolen artefacts.

AUCTIONEERS’ liability for their catalogue descriptions may soon stretch far beyond the saleroom – even to third parties not involved in bidding – if plaintiffs win a pending New York test case.

COSMETICS giant L’Oréal took their multi-pronged legal tussle with online auction site eBay to the High Court in London last week.

A retired Massachusetts lawyer found guilty of involvement in a major art theft that extends back three decades has been sentenced to seven years in a Federal prison.

A FAMILY feud has led to yet another cancellation of the sale of 63 works of art by Oskar Schlemmer, one of the central figures of the Bauhaus.

A DEALER has raised serious questions over Royal Mail’s compensation policy for items lost in the post following a dispute that ended in court. Despite the county court judge ruling against the postal service, Royal Mail are refusing to change their policy.

AN eBay user is being threatened with a libel action after posting negative feedback about a seller.

An American collector has filed two lawsuits against Sotheby's, alleging they concealed a financial interest in and inflated the price for an Edward Hicks' Peaceable Kingdom that he bought in May for almost $10m.

Following a successful conclusion to one of the largest cases of its type in years, a serial forger has been jailed for the faking and forging of antique silver flatware. Here ATG publish material accumulated during the investigation in an attempt to minimise the impact of the fakes on the spoon market.