A New Hampshire woman and her son — accused of selling almost $700,000 in counterfeit paintings — are once again arguing that a lawsuit against them be dropped.
In a reply filed on March 16, Lorettann and Nikolas Gascard refute points made by Andrew Hall — the man who filed the lawsuit — and his attorneys that were made in a recent objection to the Gascards’ original motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
“The Court should be alerted to the fact that Hall uses his opposition, in particular the entire first eight pages, to present the Court with a revamped “complaint.” laden with new allegations and facts not found in the actual complaint, while also attempting to suppress and backpedal on those likely to impeach his case,” read the reply. “Hall also attempts to distract from his own burdens by prematurely declaring that defendants fail to “deny,” “dispute” or provide their own facts.”
The lawsuit, filed at the U.S. District Court, New Hampshire in September, alleges that Lorettann Gascard, a former art history professor at FPU and director of the university’s art gallery, and her adult son Nikolas, sold 24 counterfeit Leon Golub paintings to Hall between Sept. 23, 2009 and October 2011. Hall has built a career in oil trading and hedge fund management and is a well-known art collector.
Hall’s lawsuit is asking for compensation of no less than $676,250, which is the purchase price of the challenged works. Hall is also seeking compensation for costs expended in discovering that the paintings were forged and attorney’s fees.
A trial has been scheduled for the two-week period beginning March 20, 2018.
Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com. He is also on Twitter @nhandyMLT.