By bringing class-action lawsuits against Louis Vuitton North America and L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art, a Los Angeles art collector and his attorneys say they are sounding an alarm on behalf of people who shop for art prints that can cost thousands of dollars: Let the buyer be savvy, and let the seller beware.
The suits in Los Angeles Superior Court rely on an obscure chapter of the California Civil Code called the Fine Prints Act. Together Louis Vuitton and MOCA potentially are liable for millions of dollars: The law, at Code sections 1740-1745, allows triple damages for each instance in which a dealer "willfully" fails to provide documents that vouch for an art print's authenticity.
Neither suit contends that the prints sold by Louis Vuitton and MOCA were inauthentic -- only that they lacked proper written documentation and therefore had their value diminished.
In the Vuitton case, plaintiff Clint Arthur says two limited-edition prints he bought for $6,000 each were signed by Japanese Pop artist Takashi Murakami but not also numbered by the artist as promised in an accompanying certificate. MOCA, he says, provided no documentation at all for two $855 Murakami prints.
Charles Sherman, an artist-appraiser who visited MOCA's museum store on June 22, said in an affidavit filed with the suit that he was told art prints did not come with certificates, and that "I would just have to trust them as far as the authenticity goes."
Arthur, who sued Louis Vuitton on June 23 and MOCA on Monday, said he discovered the law on the Internet after having misgivings about the prints he had purchased last winter during the "Copyright Murakami" exhibition at MOCA's Geffen Contemporary building.
A museum spokeswoman said Wednesday that officials would reserve comment while reviewing the suit. Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton said in a statement that Arthur's suit is "baseless litigation," and that he refused the company's offer of a refund plus interest.
Daniel Engel, one of Arthur's attorneys, said the suits were not about just one art buyer's losses, but rather a consumer class action on behalf of all purchasers in a similar position. "What does [a refund for Arthur] do for all the other people who bought them? It leaves them hanging."
The law on fine art prints apparently has been enforced rarely, if ever, since it went on the books in 1970, but on paper it carries considerable clout: It specifically authorizes the state attorney general, district attorneys and city attorneys to bring civil charges carrying fines of up to $1,000 for each violation.
