Park West Gallery "Throws in the Towel" in Defamation Case
Fine Art Registry® Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PARK WEST GALLERY "THROWS IN THE TOWEL" IN DEFAMATION CASE
AGAINST TWO CUSTOMERS WHO SUED THE GALLERY FOR FRAUD
(Detroit, MI, USA — 3 December 2009) On November 30th, 2009, Hon. Nanci J. Grant, Circuit Judge of Oakland, State of Michigan, ordered the dismissal with prejudice of Park West Gallery's Counter-Complaint against Counter-Defendants Julian Howard and Sharon Day after Park West Gallery attorneys approached counsel for Day and Howard, to announce the gallery's voluntary dismissal of the case (Case No. 08-096952-CZ).
Park West Gallery had previously dismissed its counter-claims against Counter-Defendants Michael and Maria Vallillo and Cheryl Crist in the same case.
Sharon Day and Julian Howard were among the ten plaintiffs who initially sued Park West Gallery, Albert Scaglione, Morris Shapiro and Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. on December 23rd, 2008 for Violation of Michigan's Warranty in Fine Arts Statute, Fraud, Violation of the Michigan Consumer Protection Act, Breach of Contract, Violation of the Michigan Art Multiples Act, Negligent Misrepresentation, Conspiracy and Unjust Enrichment.
A month later Park West retaliated against eight of these, its own customers who had sued them, by filing a Counterclaim alleging defamation, tortious interference and civil conspiracy. But a Case Evaluation on November 17th (in which both sides are heard and the panel comes up with figures they believe the case should settle for) awarded Park West Gallery $0 in damages in their Counterclaim. Now, with two days to go before the Counter-Defendants' Motion to Dismiss was due to come before Judge Grant, Park West Gallery attorneys approached Sharon Day and Julian Howard's attorneys, with an offer to dismiss the case. The same Case Evaluation awarded Park West Gallery $0 in its Third-Party Claims against Fine Art Registry and Frank Hunter in the same case. The Case Evaluation awarded the Plaintiffs a total of $347,900 in damages against Park West Gallery.
The news of the dismissal was eagerly received by Sharon Day who said: "My husband and I feel completely vindicated by this result. For nearly a year, we have lived under the stress and strain of not only being counter-sued for defamation, civil conspiracy and interference with business opportunity, but also of not being told what the supposed defamatory statements were, who we were supposed to have conspired with and about what, or what business opportunity we supposedly interfered with. Now, no doubt still stinging from the recent Case Evaluation result awarding Park West exactly ZERO on said counter-claims, and with only a few days to spare before a Dismissal hearing when Park West would finally have to justify their claims – they voluntarily dismiss us. We therefore feel as though we have triumphed in a year-long battle against the proverbial playground bully and we look forward to yet another significant victory on our claim against Park West when we proceed to trial."
Jim Raftery, Senior Partner with Raftery, Janeczek and Hoelscher, co-defense counsel for Counter-Defendants Sharon Day and Julian Howard, said: "We filed the Motion to Dismiss PWG's Claims on Oct. 21, 2009. The basis of the Motion was that, although asked in both interrogatory format and by way of a Request for Production of Documents, PWG had not identified a single statement by my clients which was defamatory or a single act that allegedly supported a claim for any type of civil action. The Dismissal hearing was set for Dec. 2, 2009, but just two days beforehand (on Nov.30, 2009) PWG agreed to dismiss their counter-claim 'with Prejudice' which, pursuant to Michigan law, means the claims of PWG asserted in this lawsuit are now barred for all time. My clients have always felt that this was vindictive litigation filed in an attempt to discourage them from prosecuting their own lawsuit against PWG."
This now clears the way for Day and Howard's case against Park West Gallery to proceed to trial without the threat of a retaliatory and baseless counterclaim. The case was originally filed after Day and Howard purchased a set of Dali's Divine Comedy which experts have concluded contain 100 prints with forged Dali signatures. Sharon Day and her husband, along with the other Plaintiffs in this case, are represented by Kaufman, Payton and Chapa.
Donald Payton, Senior Partner of Kaufman, Payton & Chapa, commented on Park West's voluntary dismissal: "Finally a victory for the little guy! When Sharon Day and Julian Howard dared to bring a lawsuit against the almighty Park West Gallery for the gallery's sale of inauthentic art, they were immediately retaliated against by virtue of a baseless counter-claim being brought against them by Park West. However, after a court appointed case evaluation panel in Oakland County Circuit Court awarded Park West $0 on its counter-claim, and faced with a motion to dismiss the counter-claim, Park West threw in the proverbial towel and agreed to dismiss the counter-claim. It's a shame it took all this to get the correct result, but the focus is once again put back where it belongs: their lawsuit to be recompensed for their virtually worthless artwork."
ABOUT RAFTERY, JANECZEK and HOELSCHER
Raftery, Janeczek and Hoelscher is a law firm of experienced civil trial litigators with over 100+ years of combined experience representing clients throughout the State of Michigan. The firm has tried cases to juries throughout the Detroit Metropolitan area and takes great pride in the results they have achieved for their clients and the reputations they have established among the Courts and legal community. They have been awarded Martindale Hubbel's AV rating for the highest professional and ethical standards since 2002. James Raftery was recently acknowledged as one of the top 100 Insurance defense lawyers in the State of Michigan. They can be reached at 248-538-2400 or by e-mail at .
ABOUT KAUFMAN, PAYTON & CHAPA:
Founded in 1975, Kaufman, Payton & Chapa, now has offices in Farmington Hills, Detroit and Grand Rapids and represents clients throughout the state of Michigan. Known for the aggressiveness and tenacity of it attorneys and its results-oriented approach to cases, the firm represents clients in trial and appellate matters large and small. For more information visit www.kaufmanlaw.com or contact Jonathan H. Schwartz – (248) 626 5000 .
ABOUT FINE ART REGISTRY:
Fine Art Registry® is today's only high tech solution to the age old problems that have existed in the art world since before the Ancient Greeks: How to establish provenance, prove authenticity and ownership, prevent forgery and fakery, deter theft and, basically, make it possible to create, buy and sell works of art with the security of knowing that they are what they claim to be. Fine Art Registry also helps bring transparency to the world of art through its investigative reporting and offers advocacy to individuals who may have become victims of deceptive practices in the art industry. Full information on FAR® and how the system of tagging and registering art is available at www.FineArtRegistry.com.
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