Christie's Storage Sued Again

The Art Newspaper is reporting that Christie's Art Storage is being sued again.  The article states that "StarNet Insurance Co, the insurer for the LeRoy Neiman Foundation and the artist’s estate" is suing Christie's for $10 million for damage incurred during mega storm Sandy.  Christie's is claiming it is not responsible for the damage. The Christie's documents state that storage client are responsible for obtaining insurance.

In August, Axa Insurance sued Christie's for leaving art on the first floor of the storage facility when it knew the storm was approaching. Click HERE to read about the first suit.

The Art Newspaper reports

According to the Neiman complaint, 476 pieces had been delivered to the warehouse by 4 October 2012 and for more than three weeks remained unsecure on the ground floor. On 26 October 2012, the complaint says, Christie’s storage sent an email detailing its hurricane preparations, which included raising all items off the ground floor. Three days later, Sandy struck, severely damaging Neiman’s art.

The complaint says that despite these assurances “and widespread notice that a massive storm surge would be hitting Red Hook… that would flood the first floor of the Warehouse” the company never “relocated or elevated the Artworks… or otherwise took any precautions to protect the Artworks”.

On 22 November, Christie’s storage struck back with motions to dismiss each case. It says that their agreements with the parties protect it from responsibility for any damages. The Neiman foundation and the owners of the Piatigorsky collection both signed a document, included in the court papers, stating that they were responsible for arranging their own insurance coverage for the property they deposited at the facility and that they released Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services from “all liability for physical loss of or damage to my goods”.

Christie’s declined to comment on the lawsuit. A spokeswoman said the storage company has no plans to move from Red Hook, but “of course, we are constantly evaluating ways to improve our operations, including what we learned from the unprecedented storm surge”.

The Neiman foundation and the lawyers for the insurers had no comment on the cases. Their response to the motions is due in early January.

Source: The Art Newspaper