Storage Firm Sold Her|4 Warhols, Woman Says

MANHATTAN (CN) - A collector claims in court that a storage company took four Andy Warhol prints from her unit and sold them for alleged back rent, though she had prepaid for two months and let it deduct rent automatically from her credit card.

Annemerie Donoghue sued Extra Space Management, of North Hollywood, Calif., in New York County Court.

Donoghue, of New York City, claims she agreed to pay $312 per month to rent three self-storage spaces in North Hollywood from Extra Space Management. Among the items she stored were four Warhol prints, titled "Details of Renaissance Paintings (Sandro Botticelli)."

Donoghue says she prepaid for two months on Nov. 20, 2010, and at that time "signed an ESM document entitled AutoPayCard, by which Donoghue provided ESM with a valid credit card number and authorized them to use that credit card to pay all rental charges as they became due. This document was signed by the manager of the North Hollywood facility to indicate that he had received it."

But Extra Space claimed she fell behind on payments, cleared out her unit and auctioned off her Warhols, Donoghue says.

"On information and belief, despite Donoghue's having tendered payment to ESM by virtue of having provided ESM with a valid credit card and having authorized ESM to use that credit card to pay all rental charges as they became due, ESM claimed that Donoghue had failed to pay all rental charges," the complaint states. "ESM thereafter wrongfully entered and removed Donoghue's possessions, including the Warhol prints, from the storage unit which Donoghue had rented.

"On information and belief, after Donoghue's possessions, including the Warhol prints, were removed by ESM from the storage units rented by Donoghue, ESM caused them to be sold at auction."

She seeks more than $250,000 for breach of contract and conversion.

She is represented by Mark Rowin, with Lynch Rowin.

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