WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CN) - A trust claims in Federal Court that it is still waiting for the full proceeds of its Van Gogh from an auction at Sotheby's last year.
The Van Gogh Museum authenticated the painting, "Cows in a Meadow," which fetched 380,000 British pounds from an unknown bidder in a June 24, 2014, auction at Sotheby's, according to the April 13 complaint.
Houston Cummings and the California-based trustee of the Cummings Revocable Trust, of which he is the trustee, claim to have arranged the auction with Upper East Side-based Timothy Sammons Inc. and UK-based Timothy Simmons.
Cummings and the trust emphasize that their agreement included "the commission to be paid and identified plaintiffs as the owner of the painting."
After the auction, however, "TSI and Sammons became evasive and circumspect," the complaint states.
"Months later after repeated demands, ... TSI and Sammons remitted to plaintiffs £150,000," the complaint continues.
"Despite repeated requests, neither TSI, Sammons nor Sotheby's has remitted the amount due to plaintiffs on the sale of the painting."
Cummings and the trust seek damages for breach of contract, bad faith, fraud, negligence and other claims. They are represented by Michael DiChiaro of Suffern.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
Additional Reads
-
Alaska, Hawaiian Airlines April 17, 2024 -
-
Contributor-Test-Post-2024-04-12 April 12, 2024 -
