Displaying items by tag: restraining order

The Department of Justice has restrained Pablo Picasso’s (1881-1973) Compotier et taste (1909) on behalf of the Italian government. The request is part of an ongoing investigation that Italian officials have been conducting. The painting, which is worth $11.5 million, is tied to Gabriella Amati and her late husband, Angelo Maj, who were charged by the Italian Public Prosecutors’ Office with embezzlement and fraudulent bankruptcy offenses. The restraining order was sought in connection with the criminal proceedings.

Amati and Maj, along with a public official in Naples, are accused of misappropriating tax receipts for the city. The trio also planned schemes to embezzle Naples’ tax revenue and fraudulently claimed refunds to Naples taxpayer to make transfers to their own bank accounts seem legitimate. The city of Naples lost approximately $44 million due to Amati and Maj’s schemes.

The Picasso painting, which was recovered by special agents in New York while it was being offered for private sale, will remain in the court’s jurisdiction. The U.S. is working closely with the Italian Public Prosecutors’ Office to forfeit the painting to Italy. Restraining the painting will hopefully help recovered the millions of dollars Naples lost because of Amati and Maj.

The Keith Haring Foundation filed a lawsuit against the organizers of the exhibition Haring Miami on Friday, March 8, 2013 in a Miami courtroom. The Foundation, which owns all of the intellectual property rights in Keith Haring’s (1958-1990) artwork as well as a considerable chunk of the artist’s oeuvre, is seeking a restraining order and an injunction against the organizers in relation to copyright and trademark infringement.

A New York-based law firm, which is representing the Haring Foundation, asked that the organizers remove all but 10 of the 175 works on display. The Foundation claims that many of the works on view as part of Haring Miami have not been properly authenticated.

During promotions, organizers announced that approximately 200 original Haring artworks would be on view, ultimately securing sponsorship from established companies such as The Miami Herald, Bombay Sapphire, and Veuve Clicquot. Organizers also enticed a number of prominent members from the Miami arts community to join the exhibition’s “Host Committee.”

After the lawsuit was filed, exhibition organizers contacted the foundation and agreed to remove all fake artworks and destroy the accompanying exhibition catalogue, which featured the unauthenticated works. Although the organizers have been compliant, the foundation still plans to move forward with the lawsuit.

Haring founded the Keith Haring Foundation in 1989 to support organizations that offer education to underprivileged children as well as organizations that offer AIDS/HIV education, prevention, and care. The foundation is also devoted to protecting the legacy of Haring, who passed away in 1990 due to AIDS-related complications.