Park West Gallery Proved by Lawsuit Loss to be Selling Fake Dali Prints
Among other Fraudulent Misrepresentation of Art Sales on Cruise Ships -
Cruise Lines are Taking This Seriously

Fine Art Registry® Press Release

West Gallery Proved by Lawsuit Loss to be Selling Fake Dali Prints
Among Other Fraudulent Misrepresentation of Art Sales on Cruise Ships -
Cruise Lines are Taking This Seriously

(Detroit, MI, USA — 12 May 2010)   The recent loss of Park West Gallery's defamation case against Fine Art Registry and three individuals shows that the jury in Federal Court in Eastern Michigan had no doubt that the evidence they were shown proved that Park West Gallery has been selling and continues to sell inauthentic art, including Salvador Dali prints, using fraudulent misrepresentation at art auctions on cruise ships. And Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines have stated that they will not be renewing their contract with the disgraced gallery.

Park West Gallery sued Fine Art Registry and the other defendants in the case for defamation. The main point Park West attempted and failed to prove through their witnesses and experts was that the Dalí prints they sell are genuine and bear genuine signatures and that the statements by Fine Art Registry that they were not genuine were defamatory. Fine Art Registry defended the defamation claim on the basis of TRUTH. According to Fine Art Registry there was no defamation because all of the statements the web based company made were truthful. These statements included the following:

• That Park West Gallery had sold and is still selling fake prints or genuine prints with forged signatures to its customers, including those of Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí, many of which were sourced from the controversial Albaretto family in Turin, Italy.
• That Park West Gallery was guilty of criminal, fraudulent misrepresentation and other criminal activities under the guise of selling art at so-called "art auctions" on cruise ships and elsewhere.

The jury found that there had been NO DEFAMATION because the statements were indeed factual.

The experts who testified for Fine Art Registry about the Salvador Dali prints and signatures were Nicolas Descharnes, Frank Hunter and William Flynn. Nicolas Descharnes and his father Robert Descharnes, who worked with Dali personally for 40 years, are acknowledged to be the only experts in the world trusted by the leading art auction houses to authenticate Dali original work. Nicolas Descharnes testified as an expert on Dali and Dali signatures. He said of the results of the lawsuit, "It is a great historical victory for the preservation of the art of Salvador Dali. I'm proud of my contribution to the justice of United States which fulfilled its mission."

Frank Hunter, Director of the Salvador Dalí Archives in New York, who worked with Albert Field in the compilation of the well respected catalog of Dali's graphic works, testified as an expert on Salvador Dali graphic works (prints) and on Salvador Dali's signature. After hearing the jury's verdict in the trial he said, "The opinions expressed by Nicolas Descharnes and myself are based on a firm foundation of knowledge, first-hand experience with the works of Dali and with Dali personally. Such opinions are considered expert opinions. Real experts cooperate with one another, and, as professionals, do not spew invectives at other experts. Someone whose opinions are based on speculation, conjecture, or guesswork is not, in anyone's opinion, an expert. Dali authentication should be left to the authentic experts." Frank Hunter was the only witness who testified in the court who had personally watched Salvador Dali signing prints in series.

The eminent handwriting expert William Flynn, in his remarkably clear testimony which left the jury in no doubt that the so-called Dali signatures on the prints sold by Park West which he examined were fake, described the most commonly seen signature type as "a crude forgery" and another set as "practiced forgeries." He used science to demonstrate the basis for his opinion.

It is notable that Park West retained two handwriting experts in this case but neither one testified in court because they could not affirm that the signatures on the Park West prints were by the hand of Salvador Dali and they had great respect for William Flynn and his expertise. The only expert witness on the subject of Salvador Dali signatures who appeared in court for Park West Gallery was their own retained appraiser and self-proclaimed Dali expert Bernard Ewell who never met Salvador Dali and is not recognized as an expert on Dali by anyone other than Park West and himself. His testimony was therefore very unconvincing.

Having lost their defamation case in Michigan, Park West Gallery still faces six class action suits - four in Michigan, one in Washington and one in Florida - as well as individual cases against the gallery and its principals, with other cases on the way.

It is apparent that Park West Gallery has for some time been under investigation for criminal activities by several separate Federal agencies, including the US Postal Inspection Services (for mail fraud), the FBI, the IRS and Customs and Border Protection. Park West Gallery's defeat in their defamation case against Fine Art Registry should open the door for these Federal agencies to move ahead and bring their investigations to a rapid conclusion. Fine Art Registry has been helping these agencies by providing all available information to them and by putting them in contact with Park West Gallery customers/victims and with ex-employees who have much inside information to impart.

The jury's verdict, after a nearly six week trial in which a great deal of evidence was presented which is relevant to all the cases and investigations, will no doubt have great bearing in the other lawsuits and in the Federal investigations.

Also in the wake of the Michigan Federal Court case comes the decision on the part of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Park West's largest cruise line partner, not to renew the contract with Park West Gallery which terminates shortly. Tony Faso, Associate General Counsel for RCCL, told Fine Art Registry, "We are not renewing the contract with Park West."

The verdict of the Federal Court jury in Michigan has great significance for the Dali graphics market which has been inundated by very expensive forgeries sold by Park West, many of them coming from the Albaretto family in Turin who have for years been surrounded by controversy regarding the authenticity of their Dalí collection and the prints they have placed on the market. Park West's defeat in this lawsuit has now established in a court of law that this art is indeed inauthentic.

Theresa Franks, CEO of Fine Art Registry, said, "It is clear that the jury's recent verdict in the Federal Court case in Michigan is a landmark decision which will have wide impact on the Dali print market, the practices of cruise ship art auctions, and the future of Park West Gallery and its operating methods. This is an example of a SLAPP lawsuit which has backfired very heavily on the plaintiff and a lesson that should be learned by litigation-happy companies who feel they can silence their critics with frivolous lawsuits instead of paying attention to legitimate complaints and reforming their corrupt or criminal practices."

For more information please see the Fine Art Registry Web site www.fineartregistry.com. For an interview with Theresa Franks or additional information, contact David Phillips at (206) 420 8341 or .

ABOUT FINE ART REGISTRY:
Fine Art Registry® is today's only high tech solution to the age old problems that have existed in the art world since before the Ancient Greeks: How to establish provenance, prove authenticity and ownership, prevent forgery and fakery, deter theft and, basically, make it possible to create, buy and sell works of art with the security of knowing that they are what they claim to be. Full information on FAR® and the system of tagging and registering art is available at www.FineArtRegistry.com.

Press Release by Fine Art Registry, May 12, 2010   |   Print   |  

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