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Statute

California Statute - Civil Procedure Code § 354.3, Action to recover Holocaust-era artwork

Citation

CAL. CIV. PROC. CODE § 354.3

Summary

Cal. Civ. Proc. Code §354.3, enacted in 2002, provides that any owner, heir or beneficiary of an owner, may bring an action in a California state court to recover Holocaust-era artwork from a museum or gallery without having the claim dismissed for failure to comply with the statute of limitations, so long as the action is commenced on or before December 31, 2010.

N.B.: On August 19, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, in Von Saher v. Norton Simon Museum of Art, struck down Cal. Civ. Proc. Code §354.3, ruling that it was an unconstitutional infringement of the Federal Government’s power to conduct the nation’s foreign policy. Von Saher's application to the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari on the matter was denied June 27, 2011.
 

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