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Case Summary
Educational Resources > Art Law and Cultural Property > Case Law and Statutes > Art Fraud, Attribution, Authenticity, Forgery, Libel, Defamatory Statements > Case Summary
Mount v. Ormond
Mount v. Ormond, No. 91-cv-0125, (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 13, 1991).
Mount v. Ormond, No. 91-cv-0125, (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 13, 1991).
Précis
Starting in 1955, Charles Merrill Mount, the plaintiff, authored several books on John Singer Sargent, including acatalogue raisonné. In 1970, defendant Richard Ormond published a book on Sargent. In June 1990, another New York gallery issued a prospectus which included notes on a Sargent watercolor which was to be included in a forthcoming catalogue raisonné compiled by Ormond and Defendant Odile Duff. Mount sued Ormond and Duff alleging damages resulting from defendants engaging in a pattern of illegal racketeering, illegally controlling the market for Sargent's work through activity which included mail and wire
fraud
The intentional use of deceit, a trick or some dishonest means to deprive another of his money, property or legal right, either as a cause of action or as a fatal element in the action itself.
defamation
1) The act of harming the reputation of another by making a false statement to a third person; 2) A false written or oral statement that damages another's reputation (Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)).
libel
A malicious publication, expressed either in printing, writing, typewriting, or by signs and pictures, that blackens the memory of one who is dead, or the reputation of one who is alive, and expose him to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule. (Ballentine's Law Dictionary)
copyright infringement
The act of violating any of a copyright owner's exclusive rights granted by law. In the United States, a copyright owner has several exclusive rights in copyrighted works, including the rights (a) to reproduce the work, (b) to prepare derivative works based on the work, (c) to distribute copies of the work, (d) for certain kinds of works, to perform the work publicly, (e) for certain kinds of works, to display the work publicly, (f) for sound recordings, to perform the work publicly, and (g) to import into the United States copies acquired elsewhere (Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)).
Associated Legal Decision(s)
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