HHR Art Law

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Senate Report Documents Russian Oligarchs’ Use of the U.S. Art Market to Launder Money

August 19, 2020

Nicholas-Roerich_Art-Law-Blog-Image--745x300

On July 29, 2020, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs issued a 150-page bipartisan report that identifies the art market both as the “largest legal, unregulated market in the United States” and a significant weakness in the nation’s sanctions and anti-money laundering regimes.[1] The Senate Report includes a host of findings regarding art-market practices and the ability of sanctioned individuals to use the art world’s lack of transparency to funnel…

HHR Art Law

Second Circuit Holds that FSIA Bars Suit Against Sovereign Asserting Cultural Patrimony Claim

By Nicolas Rodriguez

July 23, 2020

Bronze Horse2_745x300 — Photos from Symes-Michaelides Archive, per Greece's Motion to Dismiss.

On June 9, 2020, the Second Circuit effectively terminated Sotheby’s efforts to bring suit against a foreign nation for interference with one of its auctions, reversing and remanding Barnet v. Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Hellenic Republic to the Southern District of New York with instructions to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.[1] Barnet turned on whether the “commercial activity” exception to the general bar to suits against foreign states…

HHR Art Law

5Pointz Litigation SCOTUS-Bound?

By Erin Pamukcu

June 30, 2020

"Ezmosis / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)" — Ezmosis (modified) / CC BY-SA

Last month, in the latest chapter of the ongoing legal saga arising from the whitewashing of “5Pointz,” the former aerosol-art mecca located in Queens, New York, the Second Circuit granted defendants’ motion to stay issuance of its appellate mandate pending defendants’ petition for a writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court of the United States. Defendant real estate developers indicate that they seek the high court’s review of (i) the scope of the…

HHR Art Law

Art Dealers’ First Amendment Argument Against New York State Ivory Law Survives Motion to Dismiss

By Amanda Boitano

August 30, 2019

On August 14, 2019, Judge Lorna Schofield of the Southern District of New York entered an Opinion and Order in The Art & Antique Dealers League of America, Inc. v. Seggos, 18 Civ. 2504, ruling on the constitutionality of provisions of New York State Environmental Conservation Law § 11-0535-a (the “State Ivory Law”) that restrict the display and sale of ivory within New York State beyond the restrictions already in place through the federal Endangered Species…

HHR Art Law

Fighting Back Against the “New Normal” – Artists Assert VARA Rights to Protect Street Art

By Katharine Haydock

July 15, 2019

Despite a recent decision in favor of municipal and property-developer defendants, a case pending in the Central District of Illinois serves as yet another warning to property developers to seek VARA waivers from artists up front. In April 2019, 13 artists (the “Artist-Plaintiffs”) brought VARA claims against two defendants, the Town of Normal (the “Town”) and real estate developer Bush Development (together, “Defendants”), in the Central District of Illinois for injunctive and other relief to…

HHR Art Law

Pennsylvania District Court to Rule on Whether Street-Artist VARA Plaintiff Must Plead Facts Supporting “Recognized Stature”of the Work

By Grace Ha

May 13, 2019

colorful-abstract-wall-art-745px-W_300px-H

A case pending in the Western District of Pennsylvania should provide the opportunity for a federal judge to clarify the pleading requirements for the “recognized stature” element of a VARA claim. In April 2018, street artist Kyle Holbrook and two arts organizations that he founded brought VARA claims against forty-four defendants, including the City of Pittsburgh, in the federal court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, alleging that the defendants had mutilated and destroyed murals…

HHR Art Law

Arts and Antiques Dealers Await Judge’s Ruling on Challenge to Strict New York State Ivory Law

By Amanda Boitano

May 2, 2019

Last year, two trade groups of New York-based art and antiques dealers brought claims against New York State officials in the federal court for the Southern District of New York, seeking to invalidate a 2014 New York law that opens dealers up to criminal penalties for buying and selling antique ivory.[1] On March 21, 2019, Judge Lorna Schofield of the Southern District of New York permitted the trade groups’ Third Amended Complaint to…

HHR Art Law

Update: U.S. Supreme Court Denies Certiorari in California Resale Royalty Case

By Katharine Haydock

April 25, 2019

On April 1, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in a series of Ninth Circuit cases that found that the California Resale Royalty Act (“CRRA”) was partially preempted by section 301(a) of the 1976 Copyright Act. Under the CRRA, secondary-market sellers of fine art would be required to pay to the artist who created a work a five percent (5%) royalty on each resale of that work. After the Ninth Circuit ruled that…

HHR Art Law

Who We Are: A Look Inside Our Art Law Practice Group

By HHR Art Law

April 15, 2019

At Hughes Hubbard, we are a full service firm with the suite of resources to provide clients with a reach and set of capabilities that is unique. In this video, our Art Law lawyers highlight some of the high-end work we do – and the number of issues at stake – for our high-end clients. …

HHR Art Law

Failed Antitrust Case Against World-Class Museums or an Artist’s Veiled Publicity Stunt?

By Carolyn Harbus

February 6, 2019

Robert Cenedella – a satirical American artist – has apparently decided not to replead his antitrust case against five major New York City museums. On December 19, 2018, Judge John G. Koeltl of the Southern District of New York dismissed Cenedella’s class action complaint, but gave him the opportunity to submit an amended complaint by January 15, 2019.[1] That deadline has since passed, with nothing from Cenedella but a defiant email statement attacking…

HHR Art Law

Blog Authors

Senate Report Documents Russian Oligarchs’ Use of the U.S. Art Market to Launder Money

Second Circuit Holds that FSIA Bars Suit Against Sovereign Asserting Cultural Patrimony Claim

5Pointz Litigation SCOTUS-Bound?

Art Dealers’ First Amendment Argument Against New York State Ivory Law Survives Motion to Dismiss

Fighting Back Against the “New Normal” – Artists Assert VARA Rights to Protect Street Art

Pennsylvania District Court to Rule on Whether Street-Artist VARA Plaintiff Must Plead Facts Supporting “Recognized Stature”of the Work

Arts and Antiques Dealers Await Judge’s Ruling on Challenge to Strict New York State Ivory Law

Update: U.S. Supreme Court Denies Certiorari in California Resale Royalty Case

Who We Are: A Look Inside Our Art Law Practice Group

Failed Antitrust Case Against World-Class Museums or an Artist’s Veiled Publicity Stunt?

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