Marei von Saher vs. Norton Simon Museum of Art at Pasadena, et al.

This case concerns two sixteenth-century oil paintings looted in 1940 from the collection of noted Dutch Jewish art collector and dealer Jacques Goudstikker. The two paintings in question, "Adam" and "Eve" by Lucas Cranach the Elder, were acquired by the Norton Simon Museum of Art in Pasadena, California in 1970 and 1971, and have been regularly on view. In May of 2007, Marei von Saher, who is the Goudstikker's sole heir, filed a complaint seeking to recover the paintings. The museum sought to dismiss the case, contending that the statute of limitations had expired. The court agreed, and von Saher appealed.

An August 2009 decision by a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a California statute (354.3) designed to aid Holocaust victims by permitting art claims to be made until December 31, 2010 is unconstitutional and that von Saher’s claim to recover the two Cranach paintings must return to the lower court. The Ninth Circuit decision also reversed the lower court’s ruling that her claim was prohibited under California’s general three-year statute of limitations, thereby allowing von Saher to file an amended complaint. Judge Pregerson dissented.

On September 25, Marei Von Saher filed a Petition for Panel Rehearing and Rehearing en Banc. The petitioner argues that the Ninth Circuit erred in ruling unconstitutional the California statute that extended the time limit for Holocaust-looted art claims to be brought in California until December 31, 2010. The Petition agreed on some points with Judge Pregerson who wrote a dissent to the decision of the Ninth Circuit and put forth additional arguments for a Rehearing by a larger bench of judges for the Ninth Circuit.

On January 14, 2010 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an Order that denied the petitions for Rehearing and Rehearing en banc but allowed von Saher to amend her complaint and argue based on California's statute of limitations for actions to recover personal property (including art) which applies to property stolen or converted before the statute took effect in 1983.

Following the January Order, von Saher has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a Writ of Certiorari, arguing that the issue of the District Court ruling a state statute unconstitutional should be heard by the nation's highest court. Three amicus briefs were filed on behalf of the plaintiff --from a group of California organizations, from the Attorney General of California, and from the Commission for Art Recovery. Defendants have filed a Brief in Opposition to which von Saher has replied.