Voitier v. Antique Art Gallery

524 So. 2d 80, 1988 La. App. LEXIS 683, 1988 WL 30820
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 6, 1988
Docket87-216
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 524 So. 2d 80 (Voitier v. Antique Art Gallery) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Voitier v. Antique Art Gallery, 524 So. 2d 80, 1988 La. App. LEXIS 683, 1988 WL 30820 (La. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

524 So.2d 80 (1988)

M. Robert VOITIER, Sr., Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
ANTIQUE ART GALLERY, et al., Defendants-Appellants.

No. 87-216.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

April 6, 1988.
Rehearing Denied May 5, 1988.

*81 Lemonick, Seemann & Willis, Patrick F. Willis, Opelousas, for plaintiff-appellee.

Privat & Regan, Kenneth O. Privat and John F. Craton, Crowley, for defendants-appellants.

Before GUIDRY, DOUCET and KNOLL, JJ.

GUIDRY, Judge.

On May 15, 1984, plaintiff, M. Robert Voitier, Sr., filed this suit seeking rescission of a contract of sale of a painting entitled "Wooded Farmland Glade", supposedly an original work of art by George Inness. Voitier purchased the painting, which was owned by Fred Rotondaro, on June 26, 1982 at an auction sale conducted by Morton's Auction Exchange, Inc., in New Orleans, Louisiana. Plaintiff seeks a rescission of the sale and a return of the sale price because of an error of fact which he alleges was the principal cause for making the contract, i.e., the painting is not an original work of art by George Inness. Plaintiff, in addition, sought the recovery of attendant damages.

Named as original defendants in this suit were David Harrison, d/b/a Antique Art Gallery, Fred Rotondaro, and Morton Goldberg, d/b/a Morton's Auction Exchange. Both Harrison and Rotondaro are nonresidents of the State of Louisiana being domiciled in Potomac, Maryland. Goldberg is domiciled in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. Following institution of suit, Antique Art Gallery, Inc., a Maryland Corporation, and Morton's Auction Exchange, Inc., a Louisiana corporation, were also made defendants. Goldberg filed an answer generally denying the allegations of plaintiff's petition. Goldberg, although denying any personal responsibility, admitted that Morton's Auction Exchange, Inc. had in fact made the sale of the painting to plaintiff. Harrison, Antique Art Galleries, Inc. and Rotondaro excepted to the jurisdiction of the court on the basis of their nonresidency. After a hearing, the trial court overruled the exceptions to jurisdiction filed by these defendants. Those defendants also filed exceptions of prescription and no right and no cause of action which were referred to the merits. Harrison, Antique and Rotondaro filed answers generally denying the allegations of plaintiff's pleadings.

After a trial on the merits, the trial court overruled the exceptions of prescription and no right and no cause of action and made the following findings:

1. The painting owned by Rotondaro which was sold to Voitier was not an original George Inness.
2. Morton Goldberg had no individual responsibility in the matter as the sale was confected on behalf of Rotondaro by Morton's Auction Exchange, Inc.
3. Morton's Auction Exchange, Inc., although the undisclosed agent of Rotondaro, is not amenable to judgment because of bankruptcy proceedings pending in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
4. Harrison was the undisclosed agent of Rotondaro.
5. There was no valid and effective disclaimer of warranty.

Pursuant to these findings, the trial court rendered judgment in favor of plaintiff and against Harrison and Rotondaro, in solido, for the sum of $23,610.93, which included a return of the purchase price of $17,500.00 and all damages sustained by the purchaser, Voitier. Rotondaro was decreed entitled to a return of the painting contingent upon payment of the judgment in full.[1] Harrison and Rotondaro appealed.

FACTS

In early 1982, Fred Rotondaro, a resident of the state of Maryland, purchased the painting at issue, which was reputed to be an original George Inness work of art from David Harrison, d/b/a Antique Art Gallery. *82 Prior to the purchase, Rotondaro had the painting authenticated and was satisfied that it was an original George Inness painting. Shortly thereafter, Rotondaro consigned the painting back to Harrison in the hope of turning a profit on a resale.

During the late spring of 1982, Robert Dishmond, the head of the art department for Morton's Auction Exchange, Inc., placed an advertisement in the Washington Post indicating that a Morton's representative would be in the area looking for paintings to sell in New Orleans, Louisiana. Harrison contacted Dishmond. At Harrison's invitation, Dishmond went to the Antique Art Gallery and selected several paintings, including the alleged George Inness original, for shipment to New Orleans. Thereafter, Harrison shipped the selected paintings to Morton's Auction Exchange, Inc. in New Orleans. Rotondaro was aware of these arrangements.

On June 26, 1982, an auction was held at Morton's Auction Exchange, Inc. At the auction, M. Robert Voitier, Sr. was the successful bidder on the painting at issue which was alleged to be an original work of art by the early American artist, George Inness. The bid price was $17,500.00. Voitier had seen the painting prior to the auction and on the day of sale made his bid telephonically. In addition to the purchase price, Voitier paid a 10% hammer fee, $1,750.00, and 3% sales tax. He was also required to pay freight and insurance fees to transport the painting to his residence. Upon delivery to his residence, Voitier noticed the absence of the letter of authenticity which he had been assured would accompany the painting. He immediately contacted Morton's Auction Exchange, Inc. and was eventually sent a letter of authenticity written by a Rosalyn Mikesell, owner/director of the Webberly Galleries in Chicago, Illinois. Voitier was not satisfied with Mikesell's letter of authenticity and engaged the services of Nicolai Cikovsky, an expert on the works of George Inness. Cikovsky, after studying the painting, rendered a written opinion to Voitier stating that the painting was not a George Inness original. Following this discovery, Voitier contacted Goldberg and attempted to return the painting for the amount paid. Goldberg made efforts to recover the purchase price from Rotondaro, the owner, and Harrison, the agent, who had cosigned the painting to him in New Orleans. Correspondence and demands went back and forth to no avail. Voitier then instituted this suit.

On appeal, defendants, Harrison and Rotondaro, urge the following as error:

1. The trial court erred in overruling their exceptions to jurisdiction.
2. The trial court erred in overruling their exceptions of prescription.
3. The trial court erred in finding a cause of action against defendants, Rotondaro and Harrison.
4. The trial court erred in finding that the sale was a sale with warranty.
5. The trial court erred in awarding damages pursuant to La.C.C. art. 1934(3) (now La.C.C. arts. 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999).

JURISDICTION

The trial court correctly concluded that it had jurisdiction over Harrison and Rotondaro under Louisiana's long-arm statute, La.R.S. 13:3201, which provides in pertinent part as follows:

"A court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident, who acts directly or by an agent, as to a cause of action arising from any one of the following activities performed by the nonresident:

(1) Transacting any business in this state.

. . . . .
B.

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Related

Chambers v. Kennington
796 So. 2d 733 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2001)
Slaughter v. Guinn
571 So. 2d 876 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1990)
Voitier v. Antique Art Gallery
531 So. 2d 271 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1988)

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Bluebook (online)
524 So. 2d 80, 1988 La. App. LEXIS 683, 1988 WL 30820, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/voitier-v-antique-art-gallery-lactapp-1988.