Art lawyer Nicholas O’Donnell finds in the recent ruling over a work of art by Cady Noland that was damaged and restored without her permission, some clues about the legal definition of an art advisor’s duty to his or her clients.

As O’Donnell points out, the issue has direct bearing upon the long-running dispute between Dmitiry Rybolovlev and his former advisor/dealer (which role Bouvier played is the nub of the dispute) Yves Bouvier. But it also helps define the responsibilities of the hundreds (thousands?) of art advisors and clients out there.

Here’s the issue that O’Donnell wants to focus on: Scott Mueller bought a Cady Noland with the help of art adviser Marisa Newman. Noland exercised her rights to declare the work not hers after it was restored without her consultation. Mueller responded by suing for his money back but only seems to have gone after his art advisor.

Let’s let O’Donnell take over from here:Continue Reading