Legal Cases

A FORMER Cambridge University student who plundered priceless historical book collections, stealing works valued at over £1m, has been jailed for four years.

The former chairmen of Sotheby’s and Christie’s faced different but equally humiliating fates last week following the auction house price-fixing scandal.

SOTHEBY’S former chairman, A. Alfred Taubman, convicted in December of conspiring with rival auction house Christie’s to fix fees charged to sellers, must now wait until April 22 for sentencing.

A CONMAN with an “appalling record”, who cheated antique dealers across the country has been jailed for six years at Salisbury Crown Court.

The Italian art market is in shock at the arrest of one of its major players for the sale of fake works of art and other crimes.

THE conventions of attribution for paintings are safe after a High Court judge ruled in favour of Mayfair art dealers Agnew’s in a £1.5m claim by a disgruntled customer.

In the second major Internet shill bidding case, three people have been charged with running a scheme that boosted the sale prices of hundreds of pieces of Lalique glass auctioned on eBay.

The conviction of New York antiquities dealer Frederick Schultz on charges of conspiracy and trading in stolen and smuggled artefacts has sent shockwaves through the trade.

Sotheby’s have responded to the threat of legal action over alleged price fixing at UK auctions, playing down the claims of legal firm Class Law.

THE judgment in the £1.5m claim against Mayfair art dealers Agnew’s could have important repercussions for the rules and conventions on attribution in UK art sales.

MAYFAIR art dealers Agnew’s are hotly contesting claims for a £1.5m refund over an Old Master which is at the centre of a dispute over who painted it.

A court decision to proceed with a case against a member of the trade is expected to deal a major blow to the United States’ antiquities business.

Alfred Taubman has tendered his widely expected appeal against his price-fixing conviction. The 76-year-old former chairman of Sotheby’s, who could face up to three years in jail when he comes up for sentencing on April 2, has objected to the use of a quotation from 18th century Scottish economist Adam Smith.

Former Sotheby’s chairman Alfred Taubman fell asleep during board meetings and was more concerned with getting his lunch than running his company, a New York jury was told last week.

Counsel highlights undisputed lies: The most dramatic episode yet in the trial of Alfred Taubman was played out in a New York court last week. The former boss of Sotheby’s was accused by his one-time protegé, Diana ‘Dede Brooks’, of forcing her into a criminal conspiracy with arch rival Christie’s. He denies any wrongdoing.

YAHOO have succeeded in their court bid to deny French government jurisdiction over the firm’s activities outside France.

FORMER Christie’s managing director Christopher Davidge has told the jury in the Alfred Taubman trial that Sotheby’s ex-chairman was involved in the illegal price-fixing between the two auction houses.

Olympia and Earls Court chief executive Andrew Morris has faced some 200 exhibitors, angry at the dismissal of show director Victoria Borwick, to reassure them about the Olympia fairs’ future.

As Sotheby’s ex-boss Alfred Taubman faced a New York jury last week on criminal charges of fixing vendors premiums with Christie’s, there was still no sign of money owed to dealers in the related civil law suit that was settled in April. The reason? Two US appeals.

Trade warned to read small print telling of charges before filling in forms. Dealers are again at risk of falling foul of a questionable marketing ploy that could leave them facing bills of hundreds if not thousands of pounds.