Lawsuits
Madonna, Justin Bieber, Paris Hilton and others accused of fraud in star-studded NFT lawsuit
Many A-list celebrities have been accused of neglecting to disclose compensation for endorsing Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs
London dealer cleared over negligent sale of a Chardin painting
A court has ruled that Simon Dickinson, who advised a British aristocrat to sell an 18th-century French masterpiece for a fraction of what it later sold for, did not deliberately undervalue the painting
US campaign group sues Smithsonian over return of Benin Bronzes to Nigeria
Restitution Study Group have lost their first legal battle but insist the case is still pending
MoMA trustee Leon Black accused of rape
A lawsuit claims that the billionaire sexually assaulted a woman in Jeffrey Epstein's New York mansion
Qatari sheikh wins £4.2m lawsuit against prominent London dealer John Eskenazi
While the judge decided the defendant sold the works in good faith, he ruled that all seven objects purchased by the sheikh are fakes
Major insurance claims spark questions over ‘damaged art’
A spate of recent high-profile cases demonstrate ongoing challenges for the sector
More artists leave König gallery amid 'sexual misconduct' allegations against its founder Johann König
Monica Bonvicini's departure from the gallery's roster is one of many in recent months
Suspected Old Master forger Giuliano Ruffini—wanted by French police—cannot be found
The French dealer, who is under investigation for selling a series of allegedly forged paintings, has had a warrant out for his arrest since 2019
Ye must pay: Miami art space sues artist formerly known as Kanye West for overdue rent
Surface Area, an art and retail showroom in Miami’s Design District, says the embattled artist owes $145,813 for a month-long rental
Paris court dismisses bribery charges brought against Marlborough Gallery, French curator and artist’s family
The charges, brought ten years ago by a rival gallerist, revolved around allegations that a curator at France’s national museum of Asian art had received favours in exchange for organising a Chu Teh-Chun exhibition
US court dismisses Nazi-era Guelph Treasure restitution claim
The heirs of Jewish dealers, who allegedly sold the medieval collection to the Prussian government under duress due to Nazi persecution, may appeal the ruling
New York Attorney General's investigation into Sotheby's alleged tax fraud widens
Letitia James's office is seeking information on more than 50 collectors related to a 2020 lawsuit against the auction house
Netflix sued for defamation by writer depicted in Anna Delvey series
Rachel Williams, a friend of Anna Sorokin’s who ultimately assisted authorities in having her arrested, claims ‘Inventing Anna’ is a “hatchet job”
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne and estranged husband Tom Girardi’s art collection up for sale in court-ordered auction
Works by Miro, Hockney and Glenna Goodacre are among those being sold to pay off creditors as couple face allegations of embezzlement
Battle over Henry Darger’s legacy escalates as artist’s estate sues landlords who saved his work
Representatives of the artist’s estate are suing Darger’s longtime landlords, who brought his work to light after his death, for copyright infringement
Divorce dispute over Jackson Pollock collage returns to court
The fate of the work, valued at around $175,000, can now be determined independently from the high-profile divorce of a former Connecticut state senator and a Wall Street banker
Artists fail to win lawsuit over erased murals at San Francisco queer bar
The property owner has been cleared of whitewashing LGBTQ art works at the Stud Bar
Artist can take Maurizio Cattelan to court over banana work, says Florida judge
Joe Morford claims that the viral Comedian piece infringes copyright on his own duct tape work Banana & Orange
Photographer's abandoned Prince book at the root of a years-long legal dispute
Allen Beaulieu, who worked as Prince’s photographer during the musician’s formative years, wanted to produce a book of his best work from the era, but claims his collaborators had other plans
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
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