Per Courthouse News Service, Richard Abrahamson (a former owner of Toon Art) has filed a lawsuit against John LeBold and Americana Dance Theatre, Inc. over the sale of a number of wardrobe pieces attributed to use in various Hollywood films. The complaint was filed in the Hamilton County Courthouse in Cincinnati, Ohio last week, and “Abrahamson seeks $90,000 for breach of contract and fraud, and punitive damages“, per the CNS report. One of the pieces purchased by Abrahamson (via Toon Art) from LeBold in 1999 was Elizabeth Taylor’s costume from Cleopatra (1963), which Abrahamson recently attempted to resell through Profiles in History. The report claims, “[u]pon publication of the [auction] catalogue [sic], the owner of the authentic ‘Cleopatra’ dress contacted Profiles in History to notify them of the fraudulent representation in their catalog“. [Read more…]
Sotheby’s Refuses to Return Consignment Following Ownership Dispute
There is an article at Maine Antique Digest about a dispute over a Thomas Jefferson letter consigned to the Sotheby’s auction house – the Attorney General of the state of New Jersey sent a letter to Sotheby’s prior to the auction event, claiming ownership of the document. [Read more…]
LFL Files Suit Against GenCon for Nearly $1M – Failure to Deliver Proceeds of Charity Auction from Celebration IV
LucasFilm LTD filed suit against Gen Con LLC for “breach of contract, conversion, and unjust enrichment” in regards to the Star Wars Celebration IV convention held in Los Angeles in May 2007.
According to the suit, LFL provided rare Star Wars memorabilia from the Archive to be auctioned (via a live auction and a silent auction) at the Celebration fan convention, with the net proceeds of the charity intended for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Per the suit, the auction events raised “at least $150,000 from the sale of LFL’s archive items”. [Read more…]