Bloomberg.com reported on September 3 that Halsey Minor, a principle investor in the Landmark Hotel, is being sued by Sotheby’s auction house for not paying $16.8 million for several art works, including Edward Hicks’ “Peaceable Kingdom.” Minor bought the painting in May for $9.6 million.
In the Bloomberg.com story, Minor said that Sotheby’s is misrepresenting the facts because it has an interest in the work. But a Sotheby’s spokesperson countered that claim: “Over the last several weeks Mr. Minor told us the sole reason he hadn’t paid was because he was owed money by others, so this contention about non-disclosure is not credible,” Diana Phillips told Bloomberg.com.
 Halsey Minor, who has invested with Lee Danielson for the Landmark Hotel, says “we will have some great artistic surprises in store—not purchased at Sotheby’s.” |
C-ville.com posted about the lawsuit on September 4, and the back and forth continued on September 5 when Minor told The New York Times, “My net worth exceeds what’s owed by an order of magnitude. Their claim is preposterous.” To which Phillips volleyed that “it was only a few days ago that he brought up this issue of financial disclosure. His explanation is just not credible.” Minor told the Times that he was planning a counter suit.
Later, Minor posted an extended comment on c-ville.com: “I wish Sothebys PR department would stop describing all these so called conversations they never heard.” He said that he has not paid Sotheby’s but argued that the auction company broke a disclosure law.
“Imagine your real estate broker sold you a house and later you discovered he owned it,” said Minor. “You get the picture.”
Minor has local roots and made his fortune by founding CNET.com during the dot.com boom. Last year, he helped Lee Danielson repurchase the former Boxer Learning Center building from Oliver Kuttner for $4.5 million after Danielson sold it to Kuttner in 2006 for $3.8 million. In recent months, Minor has made waves in the horseracing world for trying to purchase Hialeah Park racetrack in Florida.
In his c-ville.com comment, Minor added: “The foundation at the Landmark is rock solid. You can see it for yourself. And we will have some great artistic surprises in store—not purchased at Sotheby’s.”
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