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AuctionsAug 12, 2016
Christie’s gets sued by Elizabeth Taylor’s trust
The Sothern Trust has accused the auction house of cancelling sales from the record-setting sale of the late actress’s jewelry without good reason and not paying the trust for other items that were sold.
Last week, The Sothern Trust, the trust for the late actress, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles against New York-based Christie’s Inc., accusing the auction house of cancelling sales from the auction without good reason and not paying the trust for other items that were sold.
At the heart of the lawsuit between the two parties is the sale of the “Taj Mahal Diamond,” the third highest-grossing lot of the auction, which remains the most valuable jewelry sale in auction history.
An anonymous buyer paid $8.8 million for the jewel, a heart-shaped diamond set in a jade pendant, later hung on a gold and ruby chain designed by Cartier. The diamond is inscribed with the name of a wife of a Mughal emperor.
According to the lawsuit, filed Feb. 24 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Christie’s canceled the sale when the buyer balked because they claimed the diamond was not from the Mughal period.
Taylor’s trust, however, contends that the auction house wasn’t obligated to do so and, in fact, shouldn’t have because it had an obligation to the trust not to cancel any sales from the Taylor auction unless it “reasonably” believed it was going to get sued.
“Christie’s never warranted or guaranteed the age of the diamond … including its believed Mughal origins,” court papers state. “Christie’s warranted only that the diamond was an ‘Indian’ diamond, a statement that … the buyer did not dispute.”
While the auction house has in the past “consistently (and successfully)” stood by sales when the buyer’s claim fell outside the scope of its warranty, Christie’s did not do that in this case because it wanted to “appease the buyer” who is an “important customer” of the auction house, Taylor’s trust alleges in the lawsuit.
The trust admits that it has declined to give Christie’s back the $8.8 million from the now-canceled sale of the Taj Mahal Diamond, which it said it believes the auction house still has.
Christie’s, in turn,
has withheld $2.9 million for the sale of an emerald and diamond ring by Bulgari in an attempt to “strong-arm” the trust into returning the proceeds from the Taj Mahal sale, the lawsuit states.
The suit goes on to list five other items, including a necklace and ear clips by Ciner that Christie’s allegedly sold but hasn’t paid the trust for yet, along with the sale of a Bela Kadar painting that belonged to Taylor that was “cancelled without explanation” and returned to the trust, and proceeds from the sale of catalogs and signed copies of My Love Affair with Jewelry that were never remitted to the trust.
In a statement issued after the lawsuit was filed, the New York-based auction house did not directly address any of the trust’s claims but pointed out that it presided over an auction that raised more than $183.5 million for the beneficiaries of the trust, Taylor’s friends and family.
“This suit stems from Christie’s seeking the return of a small portion of proceeds due to the cancelled sale of a single item from the 1,800-lot collection. Christie’s looks forward to a speedy resolution of this matter,” a spokesperson for the auction house said.
The trust is asking the court to either find that it doesn’t have to return the Taj Mahal Diamond proceeds to Christie’s, or to order the auction house to return the diamond to the trust, and for damages in relation to the other items listed in the lawsuit.
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