By Jonathan StempelNEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge said Sotheby’s must face part of Russian billionaire oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev’s lawsuit accusing the auction house of helping his former art dealer overcharge him by hundreds of millions of dollars on 15 pieces of world-class art. In a 76-page decision on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman said Sotheby’s must face fraud-related claims related to “Salvator Mundi,” a depiction of Christ attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, and works by Gustav Klimt, Rene Magritte and Amedeo Modigliani. Furman also let Rybolovlev pursue an aiding and abetting claim over “Salvator Mundi,” while dismissing fraud-based claims over works by Pablo Picasso, Auguste Rodin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and others. Rybolovlev said Bouvier charged hidden markups that led to more than $1 billion of overcharges, and Sotheby’s knowingly advanced the fraud on artworks it handled. The case is Accent Delight International Ltd et al v Sotheby’s et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

Source: Forbes March 02, 2023 05:41 UTC