NEW YORK — Sotheby’s won dismissal of most claims by a Russian billionaire who accused the auction house of helping to defraud him in the purchase of a world-class art collection featuring works by Pablo Picasso, Auguste Rodin and Henri Matisse.
But Sotheby’s isn’t off the hook yet. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman on March 1 allowed two companies controlled by Dmitry Rybolovlev to pursue some claims in a lawsuit alleging that Sotheby’s helped Swiss art broker Yves Bouvier overcharge Rybolovlev for several art pieces, including Salvator Mundi, which is credited to Leonardo da Vinci.
“Judge Furman agreed with much of our description of the facts and the evidence and many of our legal arguments,” Daniel Kornstein, a lawyer for Rybolovlev’s companies said in an email. “Although he dismissed certain of plaintiffs’ claims on technical grounds, the important result is that we are looking forward to trial and presenting our evidence to the jury on the remaining claims, which are quite substantial.”
