Press Room
Park West Gallery |
Legal NewsJanuary 2012 |
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During the first decade of the 21st Century, Park West Gallery sold more than $1 billion of original artwork. Our company has become one of the largest and most respected art galleries in the world with over 1.3 million clients in over 60 countries. For over 42 years, Park West has created an educational, entertaining and welcoming environment that ignites a passion for the arts and creates a collecting experience like no other company in the world. Our leadership is often honored for their commitment to helping those in need, our artists continue to receive international accolades, and because we have always been dedicated to the satisfaction of our clients, it is no wonder Park West was recently named “Best Art Gallery in Detroit” for 2010 by NBC affiliate WDIV-TV and chosen as “Best Art Gallery in Michigan” for 2011 by National Travel Program “Official Best Of”. Visit us at www.parkwestgallery.com to learn more. Recently, Park West has been the victim of meritless litigation. Park West has vigorously defended these lawsuits with overwhelming success. It is important to recognize that this is not a unique situation to Park West; many companies are subject to frivolous lawsuits simply because of their size and success. In fact, according to the 2009 litigation trend survey at www.fulbright.com, 83% of all U.S. companies surveyed were named in a lawsuit the previous year as a result of “repercussions from the economic downturn.” The following is a summary of all lawsuits ever filed against Park West Gallery. Considering that Park West has sold millions of works of art to more than a million clients during five different decades, the fact that this entire summary is contained in the following few pages, bears testimony to our integrity, our dedicated staff, and our loyal clients.
Only Three Lawsuits In Our First 40 Years
Because Park West has always complied with the highest business practices standards, there have only been three lawsuits filed against us in our entire first 40 years of business. The first lawsuit, filed in the 1970s in the State of Michigan was dismissed by the Court. A non-art related lawsuit filed in the State of Michigan in the 1980s was settled. No lawsuits were filed against Park West Gallery in the 1990s. A lawsuit filed in 2001 alleging improper art auction practices was dismissed by the State Court of New Jersey.
So-Called “Class Action” Lawsuits
While there have been recent attempts to bring class action lawsuits against Park West Gallery, none has been successful. What are often and improperly referred to as “class action” lawsuits are attempts by plaintiffs' attorneys to bring pressure on corporations to pay large cash settlements by threatening ongoing, expensive and often meritless so-called “class action” litigation. These lawyers advertise and represent plaintiffs free of charge, receiving fees on a contingency basis. In other words, the lawyers only get paid if they win or settle the case. They concoct their claims, allege wrongdoing and claim everyone else who dealt with the corporation has been damaged in exactly the same way in an attempt to “certify” a so-called class. Once the first case is filed, other “class action” lawyers in various states typically file copycat lawsuits. The overwhelming majority of these lawsuits are dismissed. There have been attempts to establish these so-called “class action” lawsuits against Park West Gallery for alleged improper conduct, but since all of them were meritless, none have succeeded. Federal Courts Provide Mechanism to Relieve Corporations from Meritless Lawsuits In an effort to provide additional fairness under the law, the Federal Courts now provide a mechanism to consolidate copycat cases by providing what is known as Multi-District Litigation (MDL). As a result of the Federal MDL statute, companies can now consolidate all of these predatory and essentially copycat lawsuits in just one action in Federal Court. As a result, the meritless lawsuits attempting to establish a “class” were combined into one single action before the Honorable Robert S. Lasnik, U.S. District Judge for the U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington.
ALL SO-CALLED “CLASS ACTION” LAWSUITS EVER FILED AGAINST PARK WEST HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY DISMISSED WITH UNAPPEALABLE DECISIONS
The following provides a brief summary of the dismissals of each of these lawsuits.
Blackman, et al. vs. Park West Galleries, Inc., et al., Bohm vs. Park West Galleries, Inc., et al., and Hatter vs. Park West Galleries, Inc., et al.
On July 15, 2011, the Honorable Robert S. Lasnik, U.S. District Judge of the U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington, dismissed all of the claims of the plaintiffs' referenced above against Park West Galleries, Inc., et al.Beegal vs. Park West Gallery
This meritless lawsuit consumed enormous resources, including the Court's time, production of discovery materials and depositions of numerous auctioneers and witnesses. Park West completely prevailed and all of the claims in this case were dismissed. On April 30, 2010,all of the claims in this case were dismissed. The Honorable John E. Harrington, presiding judge in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Burlington County, stated in the dismissal, “The case is dismissed” and “Plaintiffs cannot produce a single instance in which they bought art at a contested auction, let alone show proof of any improper conduct on the part of defendant.”Bouverat vs. Park West Gallery
A meritless lawsuit was filed against Park West by a single Plaintiff, David Bouverat, claiming to represent a class in Federal Court in the southern district of Florida on April 11, 2008. On August 11, 2009, this case was moved to the Federal Court in Seattle, Washington. On January 5, 2010, all of the claims in this case were dismissed by the Honorable Robert S. Lasnik, U.S. District Judge of the U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington.Bautista vs. Park West Gallery
A meritless lawsuit was filed against Park West by a single Plaintiff, Marisa Bautista, claiming to represent a class in State Court in California on April 29, 2008. On June 6, 2008, the case was moved to the Federal Court in California. On September 2, 2008, all of the claims in this case were dismissed by the Honorable Philip S. Gutierrez, U.S. District Judge of the U.S. District Court, Central District of California.ALL OTHER LITIGATION
Park West Gallery vs. Fine Art Registry et al
After a jury could not determine that Park West Gallery had been defamed by a website and its owner engaging in cyber smear, at a trial which ended in April of 2010, the Honorable Lawrence Zatkoff, U.S. District Judge of the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, overturned the jury verdict and granted Park West Gallery a new trial against the website and its owner and stated in his opinion that defense counsel was: “Ignoring my evidentiary ruling and acting, in my opinion, with disrespect toward the Court. I believe that these violations are intentional. I have been on the bench for 32 years and I have never seen anything like this.” On December 8, 2010 Judge Zatkoff denied a motion by the Defendants to reinstate the jury verdict. During the trial one of the defense attorneys was sanctioned $5,000 by the Court.Park West Gallery vs. David Phillips
On November 12, 2008, Park West Galleries, Inc. filed a lawsuit in the circuit court of the eleventh judicial circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida, against David Phillips, writer for the website Fine Art Registry for defamation and tortuous interference with its clients. On May 23, 2011, the Honorable Beatrice A. Butchko, Circuit Court Judge, found in favor of Park West and against David Phillips for defamation and tortuous interference with Park West clients. The Michigan law firm which defended Fine Art Registry in the litigation in Michigan which Park West filed against Fine Art Registry, has unsuccessfully targeted Park West Gallery. This same law firm in a predatory and in our opinion an unscrupulous manner filed additional litigation described below. Park West has been completely successful in that litigation. On April 11, 2008, Park West Gallery filed a defamation lawsuit against a website and its owner for engaging in a cyber smear campaign against Park West. After this lawsuit was filed, the attorneys defending the case used the website and its owner to generate business and the additional meritless lawsuits were filed.A. & V. Best et al vs. Park West Gallery
On June 1, 2009, Park West Gallery filed motions to dismiss claims in this meritless lawsuit. On December 2, 2009, the Honorable Nanci J. Grant, Circuit Court Judge of the Oakland County Circuit Court dismissed the claims of breach of warranty, violation of the Michigan Multiples Act and violation of the Michigan Protection Act. On January 4, 2010, Park West Gallery and its counsel were notified that Michigan plaintiffs A. & V. Best, Crist and Austin agreed to the following settlement terms recommended by a pre-trial case evaluation panel.Plaintiff Amount Sought Settlement
A.&V. Best $51,224.00 $100
C. Crist $38,390.96 $5,000
D. Austin $31,012.00 $3,800
