PE Firm Says NY Court Can Help Resolve $142M Award Fight
A private equity firm has urged a New York federal court to exercise its jurisdiction over two paintings held by Christie's auction house, including one by Andy Warhol, as the firm looks to seize them to satisfy $142 million in arbitral awards against a Chinese restaurateur.
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On Tuesday, La Dolce Vita laid out a detailed argument supporting its request to seize the paintings, saying New York-based Christie's records confirm that Zhang was the successful bidder for the artworks and that Christie's considered Zhang the "true client," and not Apex.
While La Dolce Vita noted that Christie's wrote a "to whom it may concern" letter in January 2015 to "confirm" that Zhang's shell company had "paid in full for their purchases and is the owner" of the artworks, it also said that Apex failed to take possession of the paintings because "Christie's was not fooled" and refused to deliver them.
La Dolce Vita is represented by LBKM partners Jack B. Gordon and Tara J. Plochocki.
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