QUESTION
Purchased a piece of art that's has turned out to be a fake from gallery.
Asked on Feb 18th, 2014 on Business Law - Florida
More details to this question:
We purchased at auction a painting for a total of 17,900. We posted the item for sale and we were contacted by the FBI stating that the piece was a fake and part of the maddoff scheme. We verified that it was a fake with the painter. Can I sue for misrepresentation if value as the item was sold as an original with a certificate of authenticity from the gallery. We requested our money back and the gallery owner is just giving us the run around even after he said if we got a letter from the studio they would.
1 ANSWER
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I’d definitely want to know more details about the transaction, the gallery, any liability waivers, etc., but it sounds like you would have a lawsuit. Art tends to be one of those things where the value is tied to the authenticity; therefore, unlike a replaceable item like say an average vehicle off the line, a painting gets its value often from the rarity and the particular artist. Now, the gallery would argue that there was no way it could know it was a fake, due diligence, etc. If the gallery truly did a good deal of research and it was just such a good fake that it duped their experts, the suit could get difficult, but I think it is still there. Due to the amount of money you spent, I’d suggest meeting with a civil litigation attorney to discuss the matter in detail.
Answered on Feb 19th, 2014 at 3:02 PM