Halsey Minor, the sometimes Albemarle resident who’s backing the nine-story hotel rising on the Downtown Mall, has fired back at Sotheby’s, the auction house that sued him last month for not paying for $16.8 million in art work, by filing a class action law suit in California federal court against the company claiming fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and deceptive practices.
“In a scheme to boost its own profits, and in violation of common law and statutory duties mandating disclosure, Sotheby’s actively conceals information concerning its own significant economic interests in property that it places at auction,” claims Minor in court documents filed in U.S. District Court. “Sotheby’s intentionally deceives its clients into bidding more for auctioned property than they otherwise would have, and more than Sotheby’s believes the property to be worth, thereby maximizing Sotheby’s economic return.”
Both parties’ lawsuits stem from Minor’s purchase in May of “Peaceable Kingdom” by American folk artist Edward Hicks. Minor bought the painting for $9.6 million at a Sotheby’s auction. Minor contends that he was advised on the purchase by a Sotheby’s executive vice president even though the auction giant owned a stake in the painting, creating a conflict of interest.
“Sotheby’s had disguised itself as a sincere and honest art adviser to plaintiff, while in reality acted as a self-profiteer,” Minor claims in the court documents.
Minor invites other wronged parties to join in the class action suit and asks that the court issue a permanent injunction requiring Sotheby’s to disclose its economic interests in artwork.
In previous statements to the media, Sotheby’s has claimed that Minor is just having financial difficulties, something Minor has adamantly denied in multiple statements, including on this blog.
