McLaughlin & Stern Represents Art Collector In Action Against Upper East Side Gallery

Peter R. Stern, Of Counsel at McLaughlin & Stern, LLP, is representing art collector Norman Waitt in an action involving the plight, literally and figuratively, of three works of art purchased by Mr. Waitt for $3.5 million.

In an action filed in New York County Supreme Court, Mr. Waitt claimed that, in the course of purchasing $10 million worth of art from the Gerald Peters Gallery, located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, he and the gallery agreed that he could “live with” certain paintings for a while, to see if he wanted to keep them, and if not, could return them for either a refund or “art of equivalent value.” However, after Mr. Waitt spent $3.5 million on the three pieces, the Gallery refused to take the paintings back.

The specific paintings at issue include two by the artist Thomas Moran, for which Mr. Waitt paid $1.1 million and $1.2 million, respectively, in 2007, and one by the artist Samuel Seymour, for which Mr. Wait paid $1.2 million in 2008. Mr. Waitt’s action, which alleges breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation, seeks a refund of the $3.5 million plus $1 million in damages.

Mr. Stern is Of Counsel at McLaughlin & Stern, LLP, a New York-based full-service law firm that provides transactional, dispute resolution, estate planning, and other services to corporate and individual clients worldwide.