Equinox Gallery Ltd. v. Dorfman

306 F. Supp. 3d 560
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedJanuary 25, 2018
Docket17 Civ. 230 (GBD)
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 306 F. Supp. 3d 560 (Equinox Gallery Ltd. v. Dorfman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Equinox Gallery Ltd. v. Dorfman, 306 F. Supp. 3d 560 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

Opinion

GEORGE B. DANIELS, United States District Judge

This civil RICO action, brought by Plaintiff Equinox Gallery Limited ("Equinox Gallery") against Defendant Fred Dorfman and two business entities he exclusively owns and controls, Dorfman Projects LLC and Fred Dorfman, Inc. (collectively, "Defendants"), arises out of an alleged scheme to sell stolen Jasper Johns artwork to unsuspecting buyers. (Compl., ECF No. 1, at 1, 6.) Plaintiff asserts federal claims against all Defendants under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO"), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961 et seq., as well as claims for fraud, breach of warranty, and unilateral mistake, for allegedly selling to Plaintiff one such painting stolen from Johns' art studio by his longtime studio assistant, James Meyer. (Compl. ¶ 1, 103-265.) Defendants move to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Rules 9(b) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and to strike Plaintiff's request for punitive damages. (Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 21; Defs.' Mem. in Supp. of Mot. to Dismiss ("Defs.' Mem."), ECF No. 23, at 1-2.)

Defendants' motion to dismiss is GRANTED as to Plaintiff's claim for breach of warranty and DENIED in all other respects.

I. BACKGROUND

Since its incorporation in 1976, Defendant Fred Dorfman, Inc., which is solely owned and operated by Defendant Fred Dorfman, has been recognized in the fine-art community for its expertise in presenting contemporary artists to a wide audience of collectors, galleries, and dealers.1 (Compl. ¶¶ 21-22.) According to Plaintiff, however, more recently it has been involved in a criminal racketeering scheme *566to sell nearly forty pieces of art stolen from renowned contemporary artist Jasper Johns' studio by one of Johns' longtime and trusted studio assistants, James Meyer. (Id. ¶ 1.)

For many years, Jasper Johns has maintained an art studio in Sharon, Connecticut. (Id. ¶ 35.) In 1985, James Meyer became one of Johns' studio assistants. In that position, he helped Johns create artworks and assisted with various administrative and record-keeping tasks. By virtue of his role as studio assistant, Meyer had unfettered access to the studio and its books and records, including a ledger that contained a description and inventory number for each of Johns' completed artworks. (Id. ¶¶ 37-38.) He also had access to Johns' unfinished works and was responsible for maintaining a file drawer holding such works and others that Johns' had not yet authorized to be placed into the art market. In addition, Meyer was responsible for destroying pieces that Johns was not satisfied with or otherwise did not want included among his body of finished works. (Id. ¶ 39.) In the 1990s, however, Meyer began stealing artwork from the studio, taking drawings that Johns had wanted discarded-sometimes straight from the trash-as well as some of Johns' unfinished works. (Id. ¶¶ 40-41.)

Sometime in 2003, Meyer and Fred Dorfman were introduced.2 For the next three years, Dorfman embarked on a campaign to convince Meyer to allow him to represent the latter as an independent artist. What Meyer did not know, however, was that Dorfman never intended to represent him or his interests, but rather sought only to use him to gain access to Jasper Johns' artwork. (Id. ¶¶ 43-44.) Indeed, from 2003 through 2006, other than two pieces that he bought for himself, Dorfman never sold any of Meyer's art to any other galleries or collectors. Instead, Dorfman repeatedly asked Meyer if he had access to Johns' discarded and/or unfinished works and pressured him to obtain as many of them as he could so that the pair could sell them for profit. (Id. ¶ 44.) In or about the fall of 2006, Meyer finally acquiesced and began delivering discarded and unfinished artwork from Johns' studio-some of which he had already previously stolen-to Dorfman to sell to his contacts in the art world. (Id. ¶¶ 45-46.)

The alleged scheme was well planned and carefully executed to ensure its longevity. For instance, to convince prospective buyers that the stolen works were authentic, that Meyer had good title, and that Johns had authorized their sale, Dorfman had affidavits prepared for Meyer's signature attesting that Johns had given him the various works as gifts.3 (Id. ¶ 47.) Dorfman also provided counterfeit labels that were sometimes affixed to the back of stolen artwork to create the impression that their sale had been authorized by Johns. (Id. ¶¶ 159, 224-25.) Through his business entities, Dorfman also provided written assurances to prospective buyers certifying, falsely, that the purchased artworks would be included in the Jasper Johns catalogue raisonne and recorded in his studio archives when they were prepared.4 (Id. ¶ 48.) In some instances, *567Dorfman even provided buyers with false records, including fictitiously-assigned inventory numbers so as to give the appearance that the artworks were finished and authorized for sale. (Id. )

In addition, Meyer sometimes fabricated other documents purportedly taken from the studio's ledger of registered artworks, describing the artwork, listing its fictitious inventory number, and stating falsely that the work had been gifted to Meyer. On occasion, Meyer even placed these fake pages into the ledger, photographed them in that setting, and then provided them to Dorfman so that they could be transmitted to prospective buyers. (Id. ¶ 56.) Further, and to ensure that Johns never learned of the scheme, Dorfman imposed confidentiality and re-sale restrictions prohibiting buyers from disclosing the sale, including by reselling, exhibiting, or loaning the works to others for at least eight years following the sale. (Id. ¶ 49.)

In mid-December 2007, Dorfman, by and through his business entities, contacted an art adviser seeking prospective buyers for a particular piece of stolen Jasper Johns artwork.5 As with all the other stolen Johns artwork that Dorfman sold, he represented to the art adviser that Johns had gifted the piece to Meyer. According to the complaint, even though he was speaking with the art advisor, Dorfman knew that the art advisor was working on behalf of Plaintiff, a prospective buyer. Plaintiff is an art gallery located in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Id. ¶¶ 18, 59-60.) Dorfman provided the art advisor with images and additional details about the work, who in turn shared them with Plaintiff. The art adviser also helped Plaintiff negotiate and consummate the sale. (Id. ¶ 61.) Despite it being an authentic Jasper Johns painting, even containing his signature, Plaintiff asserts that it would have never bought the painting had it known the truth of its provenance. (Id. ¶¶ 62-63.)

As with all the other stolen Johns paintings he sold, Dorfman had an affidavit prepared attesting to Meyer's ownership of the artwork and its authenticity. (Id. ¶ 64.) Meyer executed the affidavit on January 11, 2008, and had it notarized by Dorfman's wife. (Id.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
306 F. Supp. 3d 560, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/equinox-gallery-ltd-v-dorfman-ilsd-2018.