Sotheby’s v. de Saint Donat-Pourrieres, No. 1:17-cv-00326 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 6, 2018). Federal NY judge ordered the seller of a painting of Saint Jerome that had been attributed to Parmigianino to refund Sotheby’s after an expert report “conclusively” found that the painting was a “modern forgery.” Decision is available upon request.

Bruce Berg v. Kingdom of The Netherlands et al., No. 2:18-cv-3123 (D.S.C. filed Nov. 11, 2018). In the wake of restitution cases brought against European museums, Bruce Berg, the heir of the Katz brothers who were Dutch partners and collectors, filed a federal suit against the Dutch government to recover paintings allegedly sold or traded under duress to representatives of the Nazi regime between mid-1940 and 1942, during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Complaint available upon request.

DeLorean v. Delorean Motor Co. (TEXAS), No. 2:18-cv-08212 (D.N.J. 2018). Federal judge rejects John DeLorean Estate’s claim for “Back to the Future” royalties, as it found that the estate for the automobile executive signed over the rights to the proceeds of the contract with Universal when it settled an earlier lawsuit. Full opinion here.

United Federation of Churches LLC v. Netflix, Inc. and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., No. 1:18-cv-10372 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 28, 2018). Netflix and Warner Bros. negotiated the settlement of the copyright lawsuit brought by the Satanic Temple for the alleged misuse of its androgynous goat-headed deity statue in the series “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.” The Temple sought $50 million in damages, but the financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Complaint available here.

Lehmann Maupin v. Yoo, No. 1:18-cv-11126 (S.D.N.Y. filed Nov. 29, 2018). Lehmann Maupin Gallery filed suit against their former director Bona Yoo, who jumped ship to join Lévy Gorvy after giving her employer one day’s notice. The complaint seeks to “prevent Yoo from gaining an unfair competitive advantage and recover damages it says it incurred when Yoo corrupted or deleted confidential information.” Bona Yoo has filed a response, where she claims her former employers filed suit out of spite.