The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has answered a lingering  question about the interpretation of Massachusetts’s fine art consignment  law, G.L. c. 104A, § 2. Laying to rest any doubts about whether a written  agreement is required at the time of delivery to create a consignment  under the statute, the SJC has interpreted the 2006 amendments to the  law for the first time and clarified the roles of everyone involved.

After Syncora Capital settled its objections to the Detroit bankruptcy plan of adjustment, it looked like the battle over the Detroit Institute of Arts collection would subside.  Not so fast, it turns out.  A major contest looms next week with a remaining creditor, Financial Guaranty Insurance Corporation, over the valuation of the collection.  Just to recap, the creditors (including both Syncora and FGIC) submitted a valuation of the entire DIA collection that put the value between $8 billion, performed by Victor Wiener Associates, while DIA and the city advanced an appraisa

The Supreme Judicial Court, the high court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, has answered a certified question from the Bankruptcy Court about the interpretation of Massachusetts’s fine art consignment law, G.L. c. 104A.  The case, Eve Plumb et al. v.

Opening statements concluded in the Detroit Bankruptcy trial yesterday, and as expected, the role of the art at the Detroit Institute of Arts played a central role. Although opening statements constitute nothing of evidentiary value, they obviously show the road map that the various sides intend to follow. Thanks to courtroom reporting, we have a number of clues about the themes that the lawyers intend to develop.

International businesses involved in transactions associated in some way  with U.S. citizens received a measure of relief over the 4th of July holiday  weekend.

A report by an expert witness designated by the City of Detroit for the upcoming bankruptcy trial has been released concerning the value of the full collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts.  The report puts the full collection value at $2.7 to $4.6 billion, but estimates t

One deliberately ironic facet of the 2004 film Howard Hughes bio-pic The Aviator (the one with Leonardo DiCaprio) is the fact that the airlines fighting for world dominance in the 1940s were Howard Hughes’ TWA and Juan Trippe’s Pan Am.  By the time of the movie, of course, both famous airlines were gone.  Pan Am’s final descent into bankruptcy court ended in 1991.  Following its own troubles (and two bankruptcies in the 1990s), TWA was acquired by American Airlines in 2001.  But does the death of an airline mean an end to litigation?  Of course not.

The health of the healthcare industry can be summarized as follows: as go federal reimbursement rates, so goes the financial viability of healthcare providers, whether hospitals, nursing homes or medical practices.

Since reports last month that a grand bargain had been struck to provide an infusion of cash to the Detroit bankruptcy in exchange for conveying the artwork at the Detroit Institute of Arts back to the museum itself, it has been largely accepted that the deal would succeed.  The deal would contribute $366 million from several foundations, $100 million from the DIA foundation, and $350 million from the State of Michigan.  This air of inevitability is due in large part to the cards that Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr holds: unless Detroit wants to monetize or sell the DIA collection th

“The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword…And Verbal Communications During Company-Wide Employee Meetings.”