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THE WESTERN PRELACY SCORES EARLY VICTORY AGAINST THE GETTY MUSEUM IN LAWSUIT INVOLVING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE-ERA LOOTED ART
CenterAR News
November 3, 2011
On November 3, 2011 the Superior Court in Los Angeles handed Plaintiff,
the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America,
as the U.S. representative and assignee of the Catholicosate of the
Great House of Cilicia, an early and well-fought victory in an action
seeking the return of the culturally significant and symbolic Canon
Tables of the Zeyt'un Gospels, which were commissioned by Catholicos
Constantine I and created by the finest Armenian medieval illuminator
T'oros Roslin in 1256. Nearly a year and a half after the complaint was
filed, the court denied in its entirety the Getty Museum defendants'
demurrer, which sought to dismiss the action.
The lawsuit, originally filed by the Western Prelacy in June 2010, BC
438824, named as defendants the J. Paul Getty Museum and the J. Paul
Getty Trust. The complaint accuses defendants of purchasing art which
was stolen from the rightful owner, the Catholicosate of Cilicia,
during the gravest days of the Armenian Genocide, 1915-1923. The
Canon Tables were purchased by the Getty in 1994.
The Zeyt'un Gospels is said to have supernatural powers of
protection. On the eve of the Genocide, it was paraded through the
streets of Zeyt'un in an attempt to create a spiritual firewall
around the city to protect its citizens from harm. Unbeknownst to
the Catholicosate of Cilicia, during the tragedy of the Genocide, the
most beautiful pages from the Gospels were surgically cut away from the
manuscript and ended up in the United States. The Zeyt'un Gospels minus
the Canon Tables are currently located at the Matenadaran, the Museum
of Ancient Manuscripts in Yerevan, Armenia. The Western Prelacy wants
the Canon Tables returned and reunited with the rest of the manuscript.
In addition to asserting that the Western Prelacy's claims were
time-barred under California law, the Getty defendants also asked
the court to strike down as unconstitutional a recent amendment to
the California Code of Civil Procedure, Section 338(c)(3), which
provides that a claim against a museum, gallery, auctioneer or dealer
for the recovery of looted art must be brought within six years of
the plaintiff's actual discovery of: (1) the identity of the work of
fine art; (2) the whereabouts of the art; and (3) information showing
claimant has a claim for a possessory interest in the art. All actions
under Section 338(c)(3) must be brought before December 31, 2017. The
judge, Honorable Abraham Khan, rejected defendants' assertions that
early dismissal was approp! riate based upon statutes of limitations
and declined to entertain defendants' constitutional arguments based
upon due process and violations of the first amendment.
This is what is hoped to be the first of many victories for the Western
Prelacy and for Armenians in a long overdue movement to repatriate
Genocide-era looted property to its rightful owners.
Yeghiayan Law Firm, PC 535 N. Brand Blvd. Ste. 270 Glendale, CA 91203
Telephone: 818.242.7400 www.yeghiayanlaw.com
Schwarcz, Rimberg, Boyd & Rader LLP 6310 San Vicente Blvd., Suite
360 Los Angeles, CA 90048 Telephone: 323.302.9488 www.srbr-law.com
CenterAR News
November 3, 2011
On November 3, 2011 the Superior Court in Los Angeles handed Plaintiff,
the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America,
as the U.S. representative and assignee of the Catholicosate of the
Great House of Cilicia, an early and well-fought victory in an action
seeking the return of the culturally significant and symbolic Canon
Tables of the Zeyt'un Gospels, which were commissioned by Catholicos
Constantine I and created by the finest Armenian medieval illuminator
T'oros Roslin in 1256. Nearly a year and a half after the complaint was
filed, the court denied in its entirety the Getty Museum defendants'
demurrer, which sought to dismiss the action.
The lawsuit, originally filed by the Western Prelacy in June 2010, BC
438824, named as defendants the J. Paul Getty Museum and the J. Paul
Getty Trust. The complaint accuses defendants of purchasing art which
was stolen from the rightful owner, the Catholicosate of Cilicia,
during the gravest days of the Armenian Genocide, 1915-1923. The
Canon Tables were purchased by the Getty in 1994.
The Zeyt'un Gospels is said to have supernatural powers of
protection. On the eve of the Genocide, it was paraded through the
streets of Zeyt'un in an attempt to create a spiritual firewall
around the city to protect its citizens from harm. Unbeknownst to
the Catholicosate of Cilicia, during the tragedy of the Genocide, the
most beautiful pages from the Gospels were surgically cut away from the
manuscript and ended up in the United States. The Zeyt'un Gospels minus
the Canon Tables are currently located at the Matenadaran, the Museum
of Ancient Manuscripts in Yerevan, Armenia. The Western Prelacy wants
the Canon Tables returned and reunited with the rest of the manuscript.
In addition to asserting that the Western Prelacy's claims were
time-barred under California law, the Getty defendants also asked
the court to strike down as unconstitutional a recent amendment to
the California Code of Civil Procedure, Section 338(c)(3), which
provides that a claim against a museum, gallery, auctioneer or dealer
for the recovery of looted art must be brought within six years of
the plaintiff's actual discovery of: (1) the identity of the work of
fine art; (2) the whereabouts of the art; and (3) information showing
claimant has a claim for a possessory interest in the art. All actions
under Section 338(c)(3) must be brought before December 31, 2017. The
judge, Honorable Abraham Khan, rejected defendants' assertions that
early dismissal was approp! riate based upon statutes of limitations
and declined to entertain defendants' constitutional arguments based
upon due process and violations of the first amendment.
This is what is hoped to be the first of many victories for the Western
Prelacy and for Armenians in a long overdue movement to repatriate
Genocide-era looted property to its rightful owners.
Yeghiayan Law Firm, PC 535 N. Brand Blvd. Ste. 270 Glendale, CA 91203
Telephone: 818.242.7400 www.yeghiayanlaw.com
Schwarcz, Rimberg, Boyd & Rader LLP 6310 San Vicente Blvd., Suite
360 Los Angeles, CA 90048 Telephone: 323.302.9488 www.srbr-law.com