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Case Summary
De La Torre v. Sotheby's
De La Torre v. Sotheby's, No. 010910-03, (N.Y. Sup. Ct. June 23, 2004).
Précis
Manuel de la Torre purchased a painting, “La Hamaca” in Cuba in the 1950s, but was forced to flee to America and leave his belongings with a relative. He believed that the painting was taken by some of Castro’s officers during a raid on his sister-in-law’s home. In 2001, de la Torre saw the painting listed in a Sotheby’s catalogue, and made a claim that he was the rightful owner. Sotheby’s refused to return the painting and argued that de la Torre’s claim is barred under the
deaccession
To remove or dispose of an item from a museum’s collection.
Act of State Doctrine
The principle that no nation can judge the legality of a foreign country's sovereign acts within its own territory. As originally formulated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1897, the doctrine provides that “the courts of one country will not sit in judgment on the acts of the government of another done within its own territory.” Underhill v. Hernandez, 168 U.S. 250, 252 (1897). The Supreme Court later declared that though the Act of State Doctrine is compelled by neither international law nor the Constitution, it has “institutional underpinnings.” Banco Nacional de Cuba v. Sabbatino, 376 U.S. 398, 423 (1964) (Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)).
Act of State Doctrine and
laches
Unreasonable delay in pursuing a right or claim, almost always an equitable one, in a way that prejudices the party against whom relief is sought (Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)).
laches doctrine. . . .
Associated Legal Decision(s)
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