A Delaware judge has rejected Daniel Loeb’s lawsuit seeking to overturn Sotheby’s shareholder rights plan, which had prevented activist investors from owning more than 10% of the company.  “I find that the plaintiffs have not demonstrated that they have a reasonable probability of success on the merits of their claims,” Judge Donald Parsons wrote in his decision. “Therefore, I deny the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction.” (more…)

A New York Judge has placed a hold on the removal of a delicate Picasso tapestry from the wall of the Four Seasons Restaurant at the Seagrams Building.  The work was scheduled for removal to make repairs to the wall behind it, but will stand until a more cautious plan can be developed.  “I don’t want to be the judge who has a Picasso destroyed,” said Justice Matthew F. Cooper.  “If some damage were to occur, no amount of money could make up for the loss of any Picasso.” (more…)

A New York court has denied a motion to dismiss the case against Christopher Wool by studio Brand X, which is suing the artist over a series of unfinished prints he contracted through the studio.  Wool had reportedly originally made a deal to collaborate on the series with Brand X in exchange for one third of the works from the series, but allegedly tried to renegotiate when he felt the works would be worth more than originally estimated.  Wool has ceased work on the series “to get the deal he wishes he made rather than the one he did make” as court papers accuse.  “No evidence has been heard in the case yet… In due course, the true facts will emerge and Mr Wool and Luhring Augustine Gallery will be vindicated,” says representing attorney Roger Netzer. (more…)

The fraud lawsuit filed by the estate of Alexander Calder against the late artist’s longtime friend and dealer Klaus Perls has been rejected by New York State Supreme Court.  The ruling, announced this week, cited many of the claims in the case as “an incoherent stew of irrelevance and innuendo,” and Justice Shirley Kornreich went so far as to state that: “these allegations are so patently inadequate that the court can only conclude that they were brought solely for the purpose of harassment or embarrassment.”  (more…)