Case Review: Caterbetti v. Bloomgarden, et al

By Chris Michaels, Esq.

On 28 March 2014, a complaint filed in the Supreme Court of New York, County of New York, alleges violations of the consignor/consignee relationship between an artist and the gallery that undertook to sell his works. Plaintiff, Jorge Caterbetti is a professional Argentinean artist whose work comments and critiques legal, social, and political issues. The complaint, filed on behalf of Caterbetti by Matthew C. Kesten and Daniel S. Kokhba of the Kantor, Davidoff, Mandelker, Twomey, Gallanty & Olenick, P.C. firm against the Belenky Gallery of New York and its affiliates, alleges that the defendants lost approximately 65 pieces of Caterbetti’s artwork by failing to exercise all due and reasonable care in the handling, display and storage of the artworks.

According to the complaint, Caterbetti entered into two consignment agreements with the defendants whereby defendants agreed to make reasonable efforts to sell Caterbetti’s works. Pursuant to both agreements, defendants also agreed to exercise all due and reasonable care in handling and storing his work, to return any unsold works to the artist, and the parties to the agreements agreed that the consigned works would not leave the gallery until a payment had been made to the artist. Between 1999 and 2003, Caterbetti consigned approximately 105 pieces of artwork to defendants for sale.