ARTFUL OWNERSHIP

by Aaron Milrad

Notes
1. "New Weapons against Art Theft," The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J., 8 August 1993, sec. 1, p. 40.
2. "Canadian Court Tackles Illegal Art Imports," Art Newsletter 20, no. 1, (September 6, 1994), 7­8.
3. Connie Lowenthal, "The Nurse's Aide Did It," Wall Street Journal, July 26, 1991.
4. See Ontario Sale of Goods Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.1.
5. See Ontario Factors Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.1.
6. See Ontario Personal Property Security Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.10.
7. Dowe v. J.J. Pawn Shop [1994] 129 N.S.R. (2nd) 363 (N.S.S.C.).
8. Ibid., p. 364.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid., p. 365
11. See Gerald Henry Louis Fridman, Sale of Goods in Canada, 4th ed. (Toronto: Carswell, 1985), 121­22.
12. British Columbia Sale of Goods Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 410.
13. Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, s. 739.
14. Menzel v. List, 49 Misc. 2d 300, 267 N.Y.S. 2d 804 (Sup. Ct. 1966), modified as to damages, 28 A.D. 2d 516, 279 N.Y.S. 2d 608 (1967), rev'd as to modifications, 24 N.Y. 2d 91, 246 N.E. 2d 742, 298 N.Y.S. 2d 979 (1969).
15. Koerner v. Davis, No. 85 Civ. 0752 (S.D.N.Y. May 21, 1987).
16. Ibid.
17. Jeremy S. Williams, Limitation of Actions in Canada, 2d ed. (Toronto: Butterworth, 1980).
18. Anns and Others v. London Borough of Merton, (1977) 2 All E. R. 492 (H.L.). (This case was later overruled by Murphy v. Brentwood District Council, [1990] 2 All E. R. 908 [H.L.], but not on the statute of limitations issue.)
19. Williams, Limitation of Actions, 9.
20. Central Trust Co. v. Rafuse et al., (1988) 1 S.C.R. 1206, a rehearing of, (1986) 2 S.C.R. 147, 31 D.L.R. (4th) 481.
21. Peixeira v. Haberman, (1995), 25 O.R. (3d) 1 (C.A.).
22. Williams, Limitation of Actions, 13.
23. Erisoty v. Rizik, no. 93-6215, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2096 (E.D.Pa. Feb. 23, 1995), aff'd, no. 95-1807, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 14999 (3d Cir. May 7, 1996).
24. DeWeerth v. Baldinger, 836 F.2d 103 (2d Cir. 1987), rev'd 658 F. Supp. 688 (S.D.N.Y. 1987), cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1056, 108 S. Ct. 2823, 100 L. Ed. 924 (1988), remanded, 804 F. Supp. 539 (S.D.N.Y. 1992), rev'd, 38 F.3d 1266 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 115 S. Ct. 512, 130 L. Ed. 2d 419 (1994).
25. See Republic of Turkey v. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 762 F. Supp. 44 (S.D.N.Y. 1990). See also Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation v. Lubell, 77 N.Y. 2d 311, 569 N.E. 2d 426, 567 N.Y.S. 2d 623 (1991), aff'g 153 A.D. 2d 143, 550 N.Y.S. 2d 618 (1990) (modifying an order from the Supreme Court, N.Y. County, entered Feb. 14, 1989, which denied a motion by plaintiff for discovery and inspection and granted a cross-motion by defendant for summary judgment), and Erisoty.
26. O'Keeffe v. Snyder, 83 N.J. 478, 416A. 2d 862 (1980).
27. Menzel.
28. DeWeerth.
29. Menzel.
30. See O'Keeffe.
31. For discussion of the case see Franklin Feldman, Stephen E. Weil, and Susan Duke Biederman, Art Law: Rights and Liabilities of Creators and Collectors, 1993 supplement (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1993), Sections 11.2.4 and 11.2.4(a).
32. Guggenheim Foundation (modifying an order from the Supreme Court, N.Y. County, entered Feb. 14, 1989, that denied a motion by plaintiff for discovery and inspection and granted a cross-motion by defendant for summary judgment).
33. Feldman, Weil, and Duke, Art Law, 414.
34. Erisoty.
35. See Spillane v. Liberty Mutual Insurance, 317 N.Y.S. 2nd 203, 206 (N.Y. Civ. Ct. 1970), affirmed 327 N.Y.S. 2d 701 (N.Y. App. term 1971), 7.
36. O'Keeffe, 8.
37. Ibid.
38. Ibid.
39. Ibid, 9.
40. See Erisoty.
41. Laurie Attias, "French Museum Paintings Pursued by War Victim's Heirs," Art Newsletter XXII, no. 17 (April 22, 1997): 6­8.
42. O'Keeffe.
43. Porter v. Wertz, 68 A.D. 2d 141, 416 N.Y.S. 2d 254 (1979), aff'd, 53 N.Y. 2d 696, 421 N.E. 2d 500, 439 N.Y.S. 2d 105 (Ct. App. 1981).
44. Franklin Feldman, "New York's Statute of Limitations with Respect to Stolen Art and Holocaust Claims," IFAR Journal 1, no. 2 (Summer 1998), 16. See also Insurance Company of North America v. ABB Power Generation, Inc., 91 N.Y. 2nd 180 (1997).
45. Ibid.
46. California Civil Process Code, Section 338 (C) (West 1982 & Supp. 1997).
47. Naftzger v. American Numismatic Society, 42 Cal. App. 4th 421, 49 Cal. Rptr. 2d 784 (Ct. App. 1996).
48. Society of California Pioneers v. Baker, 43 Cal. App. 4th 774, 50 Cal. Rptr. 2d 865 (1996).
49. For discussion of these cases see the IFAR reports 17, no. 5 (May 1996), particularly Carla J. Shapreau, "Rule in Cases to Recover Stolen Art," 2­3, and John Merryman, "Reversals in Two California Cases Prompt Debate on Time Limits," 4­5.
50. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (McKinney 1984 and Supp. 1997).
51. New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law §13.01 (McKinney 1984 and Supp. 1997).
52. See Lynn H. Nicholas, The Rape of Europa (New York: Vintage Books, 1995) for a carefully researched account of "The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War."
53. U.S. Department of State Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets held at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and notes provided by Constance Lowenthal, director, Commission for Art Recovery, American Jewish Congress, New York, 1995. See also "Principles with Respect to Nazi Confiscated Art," IFAR Journal 2, no. 1 (Winter 1998/99): 8.
54. IFAR Journal 1, no. 3 (Autumn 1998), 20.
55. The National Stolen Property Act, 18 U.S.C. §2314 (1982).
56. See United States v. Hollinshead, 495 F.2d 1154 (9th Cir. 1974), the first cultural property case prosecuted under this provision. See also United States v. McClain, 545 F.2d 988 (5th Cir. 1977), 593 F.2d 658 (5th Cir. 1979).
57. Ibid.
58. The Pre-Columbian Art Act, 1972, codified at 19 U.S.C. §2091­95 (1988).

* * * * *

60. See Benjamin v. Lindner Aviation, Inc., 534 N.W. 2d 400 (Iowa 1995), 406, for a succinct explanation of the common-law classification of found goods.
61. Dober v. Ukase Inc. Co., 10 P. 2d 356 (Oregon S.C. 1932).
62. Roebuck v. Mecosta County Rd. Commission, 229 N.W. 2d 343 (1975).
63. Ritz v. Selma United Methodist Church, 467 N.W. 2d 266 (Iowa S.C. 1991).
64. U.S. v. Warmsprings Irr. Dist., 38 F. Supp. 239 (Oregon Dist. Ct. 1940).
65. Wilkie v. Two Hundred and Five Boxes of Sugar, 29 F. Cas. No. 1247, Bee 82 No. 17 662 (South Carolina Dist. Ct. 1796).
66. Ritz, 269.
67. Jackson v. Steinberg, 205 P. 2d 562 (Oregon S.C. 1949).
68. Willsmore v. Oceola, 308 N.W. 2d 796 (Mich. App. 1981), 800.
69. For a detailed list of the states and the legislation, see Marilyn Phelan, "A Synopsis of the Laws Protecting Our Cultural Heritage," New England Law Review 28 (1993), 63.
70. See Maritime Underwater Surveys Inc. v. The Unidentified, Wrecked & Abandoned Sailing Vessel, 531 N.E. 2d (Mass. 1988). See also Treasure of Salvors Inc. v. Unidentified Wrecked and Abandoned Vessel, 569 F. 2d 330 (5th Cir. 1978).
71. Antiquities Act of 1906, Ch. 3060, §2, 34 Stat. 225 (1906), codified as amended at 16 U.S.C. §§431­33m (1988).
72. Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, Pub. L. No. 96-95, §2, 93 Stat. 721 (1979), codified at 16 U.S.C. §§470aa-70mm (1988).
73. Quoted from Susan B. Bruning, "Native American Art and Antiquities: A Legal Primer for Collectors," IFAR Journal 17 (1998): 3.
74. Treasure of Salvors Inc.
75. 43 U.S.C., Section 2101­06.
76. Deep Sea Research, 102 F.3d, 33 FF. See also "Treasurer Salvors Win a Victory in the Ninth Circuit," IFAR Journal 1, no. 1 (Spring 1998), 19. Reproduced from C. Shapreau, Art Antiquity and Law II, issue I (March 1997). See also Zych v. Unidentified Wrecked and Abandoned Vessel, 755, F. Supp. 213, 216 (N.D. ill 1990), amended 1991, WL 2536 (1991). See also Zych v. Unidentified Wrecked and Abandoned Vessel, believed to be the Capital SB "Seabird," 811, F. Supp. 1300, 1314 (N.D. ill 1992) affirmed, 19F.3d, 1136 (7th Cir.).
77. Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, 16 U.S.C. S. 470aa-47011.
78. Bruning, "Native American Art and Antiquities."
79. In Re Savarino, 1 F. Supp. 331 (D. Ct. N.Y. 1932).
80. Groover v. Tippins, 170 S.E. 634 (Ga. App.). The owner of the soil in which treasure trove is found does not acquire title to the treasure by virtue of being the owner of the soil.
81. Dolitsky v. Dollar Savings Bank, 118 N.Y.S. 2d 65 (1952).
82. Willsmore.
83. See Benjamin v.Lindner Aviation, Inc., 534 N.W. 2d 400 (Iowa 1995). See also Bishop v. Ellsworth, 234 N.E. 2d 49 (Ill. App. 3rd Dist. 1968).
84. Willsmore.
85. Ibid., 804.

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