Lawsuits

Paris court rejects wax sculptor’s claim he is the true creator of eight Maurizio Cattelan works

Daniel Druet, who created hyperrealist likenesses of Pope John Paul II, Hitler and others for Cattelan, was seeking €6m in compensation and to be declared the works’ “sole author”

‘No mere monkey business’: creators of Bored Apes NFTs sue artist Ryder Ripps for trademark infringement

The artist defended his series as “a protest against and parody of” the prized monkey illustrations

Peter Max saga continues, as his daughter struggles to gain guardianship of the dementia-stricken Pop artist

The artist has been the subject of legal complaints for years regarding both his business and personal care

Lawsuit challenging Trump Tower Black Lives Matter mural is dismissed

The lawsuit was brought by a women’s group that supported former president Trump and had sought to create its own mural near the Manhattan skyscraper

Dealer Inigo Philbrick sentenced to seven years in prison

Philbrick pleaded guilty to an $86m fraud in November in one of the art world's highest-profile criminal lawsuits in decades

NFTnews

NFTs ruled as digital assets after Singapore court freezes blockchain sale of Bored Ape

Collector has won a court injunction to stop the sale of an NFT that was used as collateral against a loan

Enormous mural on California dam may be removed after attempts to secure legal protections fail

The 80,000 sq. ft ‘Bicentennial Freedom Mural’ was marked for removal due to levels of lead in the paint used to make it and its deteriorating condition

US Supreme Court sends dispute over Nazi-looted Pissarro back to California court, reopening door for restitution claim

The Supreme Court's unanimous decision, written by Justice Elena Kagan, revolved around the question of which jurisdiction’s law to apply in cases where a foreign government is sued in US court

Israel Museum in Jerusalem sued by Jewish heirs of Holocaust victim over valuable manuscript

The case of the Birds' Head Haggadah is the first time a museum in Israel has faced a restitution lawsuit for an object allegedly lost in the Holocaust

Artist resale rights organisations launch UK High Court action against multi-millionaire art dealer and collector Ivor Braka

The Artists’ Collecting Society and the Design and Artists Copyright Society say Braka has refused to disclose information on secondary market sales since royalties legislation was introduced in 2006

Artist sues grocery store chain for unauthorised use of his mural in Super Bowl commercial narrated by Oprah Winfrey

The lawsuit, a re-filing of a case that originated in 2019, revolves around a commercial that prominently features a mural artist Chris Williams made in Des Moines, Iowa

Digital art company claims it is owed millions from NFT sales in lawsuit against artist

DigiArt is suing artist Danny Casale, also known as Coolman Coffeedan, for allegedly producing more than 10,000 NFTs in breach of their contract

California police officers’ lawsuit over Black Lives Matter mural is dismissed

Six police officers in the Silicon Valley city of Palo Alto claimed the mural was discriminatory, constituted harassment and that they had faced retaliation for speaking out

Appeals court sides with Phillips in dispute with Chinese collector over auction of Gerhard Richter fighter jet painting

The decision, the latest (and possibly last) in a legal saga that stretches back to 2015, upholds a 2021 decision in the auction house’s favour

Indigenous man allegedly fired for refusing to discard bones and artefacts unearthed at Texas construction site

The San Antonio-based chef and site manager was dismissed after being instructed to destroy the discoveries to avoid delaying the renovation of a restaurant

The socialite collectors, the $700,000 Cecily Brown painting and the first-refusal contract—lawsuit reveals secret machinations of the art world

Chinese collector Michael Xufu Huang was covertly buying works on behalf of the Monaco-based Federico Castro Debernardi for a 10% commission. But then he got stung

Peter Max’s guardian sues his daughter for defamation in latest twist in battle over elderly artist’s care and legacy

Libra Max previously sued to end Barbara Lissner’s guardianship of her father; now Lissner has sued back, alleging that Libra Max’s legal and public relations campaign defamed her

Colston: Four BLM protestors found not guilty of criminal damage after toppling Bristol slave trader statue

Trial reignited the debate about the value of colonial-era contested monuments and statues

Trial of 'Colston Four', who helped topple slave trader statue in Bristol, begins

Banksy is selling t-shirts to help fund costs of four accused protestors

‘Fearless Girl’ sculptor mints NFTs to cover legal fees in rights dispute

A lawsuit between Kristen Visbal and State Street Global Advisors over rights to the viral statue has dragged on for nearly three years

Jeff Koons reveals he is making NFTs, details plans for his Pace Gallery shows and remembers his hotel rendezvous with Salvador Dalí

The Balloon Dog sculptor spoke to The Art Newspaper as he announced a new art collaboration with BMW

Hobby Lobby files $7m lawsuit against former Oxford professor over allegedly stolen papyrus fragments he sold

The crafts chain, which bought them for its Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, says the seller lied about the biblical objects’ provenance

Andy Warhol Foundation fights back in fair use case

Lawyers for the foundation claim a US Court of Appeals decision conflicts with precedent and threatens historically significant contemporary art work

A German prince is suing his 'ungrateful' son for selling ancestral castle for €1

Ernst August Sr, Prince of Hanover, claims that his son went behind his back to seize control of his estates

Court awards New York dealer Asher Edelman $6.9m over failed deal allegedly involving member of the Abu Dhabi royal family

Mysterious case, involving an unpaid bill for Keith Haring and Edvard Munch works, had been running for years

'The law has to fall on someone': Seller of allegedly fake Frans Hals must pay Sotheby's $5.4m for cancelled sale, judge insists

London Court of Appeal upholds the auction house's defence in forgery case, rejecting appeal by investment company Fairlight Art Ventures

Seller contests having to repay Sotheby’s for allegedly forged Frans Hals

In latest hearing of ongoing legal saga, Fairlight Art Ventures, co-vendor of painting sold in 2011 for $10.75m, is refusing to pay auction house more than $5.3m

Insurers fight $107m claim for Modigliani paintings seized by Italian police

A US dealer says he is owed millions by insurance brokers for 12 works that were confiscated by authorities from the Palazzo Ducale in 2017 as suspected fakes

Art adviser sues Rudy Giuliani for $15k in unpaid fees

A lawsuit says the former New York City mayor and lawyer for Trump hired an advisory firm to appraise the value of his collection during a bitter divorce battle

Insurers hit by art-world class action lawsuit as coronavirus crisis bites

Claimants including major museums and art galleries accuse companies of failing to pay out on Covid-19 pandemic