You would think that with all the money Park West Gallery and its CEO Albert Scaglione have made off the backs of innocent victims that he would be able to afford the cream of the legal crop to defend him and his gallery against the mounting nationwide litigation being filed against them. Okay, if not the cream of the legal crop, then at least halfway skilled legal counsel with the sense of a walnut to perform even the most basic of due diligence BEFORE filing public documents.
Twenty years after the death of the surrealist master (January 1989), a second wave of prints is creating a scandal. During the eighties, an outbreak of fake prints invaded the market. Robert Descharnes, at the head of the Demart organization, founded at the request of the artist (1986), led the war in close collaboration with the police.
But Do You Know What You Are Buying When You Buy the Destino Prints from Park West Gallery? Destino is the name of a short, animated film produced by Disney Studios, based on a collaboration between Salvador Dali and Walt Disney. Reproductions of some of the artwork on which the film is based has been turned into a series of prints, sold in limited editions of 1035 of each print mainly by Park West Gallery for thousands of dollars per print.
An order issued by the Michigan Court of Appeals on 11 December 2009, effectively brought Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. as co-defendants with Park West Gallery, back into a court case from which they had been dismissed. The complaint against Royal Caribbean, Park West Gallery, its CEO Albert Scaglione, and gallery director Morris Shapiro, was filed in December 2008 by dissatisfied customers of Park West Gallery and Royal Caribbean cruises through the plaintiffs' Michigan attorneys, Kaufman, Payton and Chapa. It alleged violation of Michigan's warranty in fine arts statute, fraud, breach of contract, violation of the Michigan consumer protection act, violation of the Michigan art multiples sales act, negligent misrepresentation, conspiracy and unjust enrichment.
The February 2010 scheduled legal boxing match between Park West Gallery and Fine Art Registry® was recently cancelled by the Michigan Federal Court. It is currently on the court's trailing docket calendar, and is expected to be reset sometime in March of 2010. Though Fine Art Registry has been ready to go head to head in the legal ring with the bully, Park West Gallery, since the originally scheduled trial date in October, this second in a row of welcome delays provides Fine Art Registry with additional time to further expose the gallery's continued bad business practices. To this end, we will in the immediate future begin with the release of a new investigative report on the Park West Gallery Destino collection.
On November 30th, 2009, Hon. Nanci J. Grant, Circuit Judge of Oakland, State of Michigan, ordered the dismissal with prejudice of Park West Gallery's Counter-Complaint against Counter-Defendants Julian Howard and Sharon Day after Park West Gallery attorneys approached counsel for Day and Howard, to announce the gallery's voluntary dismissal of the case (Case No. 08-096952-CZ).
On 16 November 2009, WBALTV Baltimore aired an investigation into the purchase of a Salvador Dali print for $12,000 by Fine Art Registry member Richard English aboard the Carnival Miracle in July 2006.
On November 16, 2009 the following program, by WBAL-TV Baltimore's I-Team, was aired in the Baltimore area. It concerns Fine Art Registry member, Richard English, and his purchase of a Salvador Dali print found by experts to carry a fake Dali signature.
Ewell's Motion to Dismiss, filed on October 8, 2009, is entertaining, and one of the more creative legal pleadings we have read in some time. Fine Art Registry is pleasantly surprised, however, that Ewell's legal counsel has taken the position he has on Ewell's so-called expertise.
Anything Goes When it Comes to Financial Gain. On September 29, 2009, Defendants Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise Lines filed a Motion to Dismiss the claims of Plaintiffs Bohm and Lee in in connection with the fraudulent artwork they purchased shipboard from Park West Gallery.
Former Park West Gallery employees and those with insider knowledge into the Gallery's underbelly have shared some very interesting information regarding the current state of affairs at Park West Gallery and we believe it is important to share the latest with our readers.
More Litigation Updates. Is Park West Gallery attempting to cut its captive self-proclaimed Dali authenticator, Bernard Ewell, adrift? On September 19, 2009, Park West Gallery filed a Motion to Sever Bernard Ewell from the Federal litigation.
Recently several of Park West employees approached us, outraged after discovering that they had been brazenly lied to by their own employer and key Park West Gallery executives. Reluctant to speak out about the gallery, and insisting on anonymity for fear of repercussions, nevertheless we were able to get some valuable insights into the operations at Park West Gallery from very reliable sources within Park West.
A Litigation Update and more... Since May 2007 we have been reporting on the business practices of Park West Gallery, as well as the legal maneuverings, lawsuits, and threats of lawsuits by Park West Gallery to its own customers, in addition to other pending class litigation against the self-proclaimed "largest art gallery on the planet." We provide the following update for our membership and readers.
The National Law Journal just published an article written by Tresa Baldas, highlighting the many lawsuits recently filed against Park West Gallery, its CEO Albert Scaglione, and his Empire of companies. It is interesting to note that in the many articles that have exposed Park West Gallery over the last two years or more, we rarely seem to hear from the man himself, Albert Scaglione, except for the comment in the NY Times article which we are sure he would just as soon everyone forget. Like the Wizard of Oz, he hides behind the curtain.
Throughout the Fine Art Registry investigation into cruise ship art auctions, representatives of Park West have repeatedly attempted to defame, slander, disparage, decimate, and lay waste to the good name and reputation of Albert Field, Founder and Director of the Salvador Dali Archives in New York and author of "The Official Catalog of the Graphic Works of Salvador Dali". One of the Park West Gallery representatives leading the charge against Albert Field and his successor, Frank Hunter, is Bernard Ewell, an appraiser and his own biggest fan.
"An expert associated with a local art gallery has been named in a third-party complaint filed in U.S. District Court, accused of making "false and defamatory" statements against an Arizona art tagging operation. The suit alleges Bernard Ewell of Santa Fe, who works with Park West Gallery, "maintained a vicious attack on Fine Art Registry" through his Web site and blog..." - The Detroit News.
Nationwide Class Actions Transferred to Washington State. The Honorable Robert S. Lasnik will be the Chief Judge and will preside over at least three of the nationwide class actions lawsuits against the Park West Gallery gang. The remaining three class actions currently pending in Michigan may be moved as well. Time will tell.
A Third Party Complaint was filed on 26 August 2009 against Bernard Ewell, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, an appraiser and self-styled expert in the works of Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali, who has for years been paid by Park West Gallery, a Michigan based gallery which sells art mainly through cruise ship based art auctions, to state that the large number of Salvador Dali prints the gallery sells are genuine and that the alleged Dali signatures many of them bear are legitimate.
Victor Fernández, investigative reporter for LA RAZÓN newspaper in Barcelona, Spain, reports on the ever-increasing and ostensibly endless fraudulent and overpriced Dali "Divine Comedy" prints which are being sold in large part, by Park West Gallery a commercial art seller that figures prominently in this Spanish art fraud investigation along with its self-proclaimed, dime-store Dali "detective", Bernie Ewell (who on his best day is a mere appraiser), but for a buck would authenticate a Dali Pez dispenser if asked to (that is, if there were such a thing). Shockingly, it also focuses on Park West Gallery's newly hired "expert", Eduard Fornés, who just happens to be in a nice cozy bed with Park West Gallery. Like Ewell, it appears that Fornés will do anything for money. Now that Fornés is implicated in wrong doing in Spain, what will Park West Gallery do now?
The Horrific (Dantesque) Fraud with Dali
The center sued by the painter's Foundation sells loose prints from The Divine Comedy. A publisher authenticates for the USA a collection which is the subject of legal battles. La Razón, Spain.
On July 24, 2009, Plaintiff Sean Mullen brought a lawsuit in Michigan Federal Court in what amounts to the sixth nationwide class action lawsuit filed against Park West Gallery and all its various affiliates including, PWG Florida, Fine Art Sales, Vista Fine Art, and Park West at Sea. Rounding out the named Park West Gallery defendants in the Mullen lawsuit is Park West Gallery CEO Albert Scaglione who is alleged by Mullen to be "the prime architect of the fraud and conspiracy." Other named defendants include Royal Caribbean, Holland America, and Carnival Cruise Lines.
On Friday, August 14, 2009, The Boston Herald published an article announcing the debut of Celebrity Cruises' new ship, the "Equinox". What's so important about this article? Park West Gallery doesn't run the onboard art auctions.
Well over a decade ago, Albert Field wrote a letter responding in objection to an article written by art appraiser, Bernard Ewell. The letter speaks for itself to establish what little regard Albert Field truly had for Bernard Ewell's expertise.
American teacher, Mark Jacobs, was ejected from his 12 day cruise with Royal Caribbean in Oslo, Norway port for critizing onboard Park West Gallery art auction. Cahal Milmo reports for the UK newspaper, The Independent.
On July 29, 2009, nationwide class action lawsuit No. 5 was filed against Park West Gallery and its affiliates (PWG Florida, Fine Art Sales, Vista Fine Art, and Park West at Sea). Also named personally for his active involvement with the alleged deceptive and fraudulent schemes and practices is Park West Gallery's CEO Albert Scaglione. Also being sued this time around is Carnival Corporation, Carnival plc, and Carnival Cruise Line.
The Journal News, New York's Lower Hudson Valley reports, New York resident removed from Royal Caribbean cruise ship in Norway over Park West Gallery art auction critisim. Robert Marchant reports on the man, Mark Jacobs, who was escorted by Oslo Police off the cruise ship, seperated from his family who stayed aboard, and left in foreign country.
Mark Jacobs, 41, U.S. citizen and resident of Garrison returns to New York after Royal Caribbean forcibly removed him from its Jewel of the Seas cruise ship. Jacobs was left at the Oslo, Norway port on July 26, forcing him to find his way to England...On this particular 12-day cruise, Park West is running three art auctions on days when the ship is at sea in international waters. Jacobs attended the first auction on July 18, and became concerned that the claims of the auctioneer might not be wholly accurate. Using on-line searching, he found that there were lawsuits and class action suits in addition to many individual stories regarding people being duped by Park West. Jacobs says, "Even though I have never bid at a Park West auction, I became concerned for my fellow vacationers. When I heard there would be two more auctions, I felt I had to let people know about Park West's track record."
On July 22, 2009, a fourth class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court in Michigan against the self-proclaimed "largest art gallery on the planet," Park West Galleries, Inc., Park West Gallery, PWG Florida, Inc. which does business as Fine Art Sales, Inc., Vista Fine Art, LLC. dba Park West at Sea, Albert Scaglione and Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.
We were recently sent the following link to a video of part of a Park West auction on Enchantment of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) by an attendee who happens to be a Dali collector. This video was shot on July 19 2009. Two factors are particularly interesting.
The Independent (UK newspaper) reports: On the cruise of a lifetime came the chance of a fortune. Cahal Milmo reports on a family who claim they were 'swindled' out of $400,000. Press coverage of Park West Gallery fraud victim and Fine Art Registry member, Sharon Day.
Press Release - The International Cruise Victims Association, Inc. (ICV), a non-profit corporation formed by victims and families of victims of cruise crimes, applauded Congressional action to move the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2009 through Committee and for Congressional consideration. The legislation they have been instrumental in crafting will require that that all crimes that occur aboard cruise ships be reported to the Coast Guard and Federal Bureau of Investigations.
Losing Everything for Park West Gallery The story of Jim Shlosser and his wife, Judy, who were lured by Park West Gallery away from the very successful auction company they owned, to go to work on the cruise ships selling Park West art where they soon lost everything they had.
The Great Art Con - From the Inside Out A veteran Park West Gallery auctioneer, no longer working for the company, called us with her story. By revealing this information she hopes to help customers who have been pressured into buying potentially fake or overpriced art get their money back and also to bring an end to unethical and dishonest art auction practices aboard cruise ships.
Behind the scenes at Park West Gallery cruise ship art auctions. We interviewed four people who had recently gone to train at Park West Gallery to become Art Directors and Auctioneers aboard cruise ships and had subsequently begun to work on cruise ships, only to find that there was a wide gulf between the promised life of lucrative luxury and the real world of selling art on the ships. Their experiences should prove valuable for others who are contemplating a career in cruise ship art auctions and also enlightening for cruise ship art auction goers who can get a flavor of what it's like behind the scenes at a cruise ship art auction.
Quotes From an ex-Park West Auctioneer Who Quit After Years at Sea. Direct quotes from a Park West auctioneer who quit, disillusioned, after years of making money with Park West at its cruise ship art auctions. They give an idea as to why he eventually quit and went on to get a "real job selling real art"...
Press Release - Park West Gallery Secretly Owned Eight of Rembrandt's Copper Etching Plates Since August 2003, Four New Articles From Fine Art Registry® Reveal.
Oh What Tangled Webs They Weave! Park West Gallery is at it again. It seems that they have a problem with communicating the truth, even when it comes to addressing the respected courts of this country.
The following was submitted by the relative of a physician who has spent over $600,000 on art, mostly from Park West Gallery on cruise ships and online. It is published as submitted. Steal a TV go to Jail, Steal a Billion or two and...
Fine Art Registry has filed a counter-claim against Park West Gallery in the Michigan Oakland County Circuit Court (Case No. 08-096952-CZ), accusing the gallery of defamation.
Letter from a former Park West Art Associate. "I recently left my position as an art associate with Park West at Sea on board the Carnival Inspiration. After months of pay disputes, accusations about our work ethics, and being lied to by our company, my art auctioneer and I both decided to leave the company..."
"You Can Check Out Any Time You Like, But You Can Never Leave." Change in Policy Regarding the Hiring and Letting Go of Auctioneers. On May 7, 2009, we received the following information from an informed source...
A counterclaim against Park West Galleries, Inc. was filed on 4 May 2009 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division on behalf of Fine Art Registry.
The Detroit News reports that Park West Gallery is named in federal lawsuit. New Yorkers filed a class action suit against Park West art gallery for alleged fraud.
The self-proclaimed largest art gallery on the planet has been sued again! It was just reported to Fine Art Registry that a class action lawsuit has been filed in Michigan against the beleaguered Park West Gallery, Inc., including its CEO, Albert Scaglione, as well as other related companies, Park West at Sea and PWG Florida, Inc...
On March 21st 2009 we received the following unsolicited e-mail from a former Park West auctioneer who had read some of the material published on the Fine Art Advocacy and Fine Art Registry websites...
According to several Park West sources, the Park West Gallery auctioneers aboard the Disney cruise ships were told, on March 16th or 17th 2009, to pack their bags and leave the ships. "We have discontinued our relationship with Park West," confirmed a spokesperson at Disney Cruise Line today, March 19th...
The Detroit News reports of Park West Gallery's announcement of art auction withdraw from cruise ships on board Holland America Line, stating the cause of the withdrawal due to the global slow down in the economy.
The ads were part of a cyberterrorism (or at least cyberyapping) campaign instigated by the beleaguered Michigan art gallery, through their PR agency, Fleishman-Hillard...
Park West Galleries, Inc. also operates in Michigan under the assumed name Circle Fine Art Liquidators. What we have uncovered here calls into serious question the ethics of the appraiser and...
Park West Galle(r)y Slaves? Indentured Service at the Art Auctions Afloat - or How to get two and a half months' or more work out of someone for no pay before replacing them with the next sucker...
Information received from currently or recently contracted Park West auctioneers and other personnel. They are published here in the interests of the buyers and potential buyers of art at the cruise line art auctions, so that they can be fully aware of what they are dealing with.
According to several reports received from Park West Gallery auctioneers aboard cruise ships and from other sources, at the end of January 2009 Park West Gallery ordered ship auctioneers to stop selling the company’s large stock of Salvador Dali prints and return all unsold inventory to headquarters in Southfield, Michigan.
Fine Art Registry received comments from a former insider with Park West Gallery. Though the email was anonymously delivered, what is stated here has been corroborated by other independent sources and we believe the statements to be true and accurate to the best of our knowledge.
In a news article entitled, Dealer drops Dali print sales, Mike Martindale reports that Park West Gallery has stopped selling Salvador Dali prints on cruise ship art auctions, ordering all Dali inventory returned to gallery headquarters.
In a news article entitled, Southfield art gallery's defamation case in Florida dismissed, Delores Flynn reports that Park West Gallery defamation case against Fine Art Registry® in Florida is dismissed.
Park West's defamation case against Fine Art Registry was dismissed by US District Judge Ursula Ungaro on 10 February 2009, "for failure to prosecute in the name of the real party in interest," thus ending Park West Gallery's boasts of a "multi-state legal suit against Fine Art Registry" so frequently repeated in its press releases, paid internet ads, and to dissatisfied customers calling in to request refunds for artwork purchased.
In a news article entitled, Park West sued by customers, Martha Lufkin reports plaintiffs demand refund for "fake" works against Park West Gallery. Fine Art Registry® is referenced.
In a news article entitled, Park West denies they defrauded buyers in cruise ship auctions, Catherine Saunders-Watson reports about ongoing Park West Gallery cruise art auction lawsuit. Fine Art Registry® is referenced.
In light of the recent spate of black PR propaganda forwarded by Park West Gallery and its henchpeople, we decided it was high time to begin letting all those nasty skeletons out of the PWG (Park West Gallery) closet. We can assure you, and it is an understatement to state that you have never seen the likes of these skeletons. They have deep, dark secrets that we are certain Park West Gallery would just as soon bury forever in the deepest depths of Sheol. But we've got the Skeleton Key and we're ready to unlock the door.
How do you deal with dissatisfied customers who demand a refund? Sue them!! And do what you can to silence anyone who tries to help them in their plight..
In a new fit of customer services zeal, the beleaguered Southfield, Michigan based art gallery has decided to deal with its dissatisfied customers by suing them for defamation and other trumped up allegations when they complained about and demanded refunds for art they bought which later was found by internationally renowned experts to be grossly misrepresented by Park West auctioneers and senior executives in terms of investment value and authenticity.
Dispelling the Myths and Fabrications Created by the Wild Imagination of the Park West Gallery Propaganda Machine.
There seems to be no end to the machinations of Albert Scaglione, Park West Gallery and its hired public relations spin doctors. And while it is not unusual to see the truth twisted and bruised in the unscrupulous world of propaganda, it is dangerous indeed to rape and pervert the facts to the degree exercised by Park West Gallery and its henchpeople.
It was recently brought to our attention through Caponigro Public Relations, Inc. (Park West's PR spin doctor) that Albert Scaglione and Park West Gallery donated over 40 million dollars (that's right - 40 million dollars) of its own inventory to a number of public universities and institutions across the U.S., the bulk of them educational institutions in the states of New Jersey, New York, Michigan and Ohio.
Park West Galleries, Inc. sued for art fraud. Park Newspaper article, "Print Predicament: What is original?" that was published in the Detroit, Mich. News on December 12, 1976.
In a news report entitled, Park West Gallery Under Fire in Lawsuit, Jennie Miller reports about the lawsuit against Park West Gallery for claims of selling fraudulent art to 10 plaintiffs.
In a news article entitled, Divine Farce, Annie Reed reports Joseph Barabe, local scientist, helps investigate art fraud, in ongoing Park West Gallery Dali art fraud investigation. Fine Art Registry® is referenced.
In a news report entitled, LAWSUIT: Southfield Gallery Sold Fake Art, Peggy Agar reports about the lawsuit against Park West Gallery for claims of selling fake art to customers.
In a news article entitled, Suits Claims Sale of Forged Art at Southfield Gallery, Mike Martindale reports about the lawsuit against Park West Gallery for claims of selling forged artwork to customers. Fine Art Registry® is referenced.
Sharon Day and her husband Julian Howard were sold a full set of Salvador Dali's Divine Comedy prints for close to half a million dollars by Morris Shapiro of Park West Gallery in Southfield Michigan. This was sold as an investment with representations of it being a rare investment opportunity. Not long afterwards, circumstances changed and Julian and Sharon decided to liquidate their "investment."
A Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial was filed on 23 December 2008 against Park West Galleries, Inc., Albert Scaglione and Morris Shapiro (owner and gallery director, respectively) and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., by the Farmington Hills, MI, attorneys, Kaufman, Payton and Chapa, for Plaintiffs Albert and Vivian Best, Sharon Day, Julian Howard, Deborah Austin, Cheryl Crist, Heidi Rice, Michael and Maria Vallillo and Martha Szostak, all customers of Park West Galleries and all, except for Albert and Vivian Best, Fine Art Registry members.
On December 18th, 2008, the Honorable Lawrence P. Zatkoff of the Southern Division of the Eastern Michigan District Court, set aside a Default judgment against Fine Art Registry in the case filed by Park West Galleries Inc, claiming defamation in articles published on the FineArtRegistry.com website.
Global Fine Art Registry, LLC, has produced and released a documentary video in which internationally renowned experts on Salvador Dali and a research scientist examine a set of Dali Divine Comedy prints sold by Park West Gallery for close to half a million dollars, and state their unanimous opinions that the prints bear forged Dali signatures, in addition to a number of other anomalies in the set of boxed prints.
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