WASHINGTON – On Monday, the Supreme Court revived a family’s claim to restore paintings stolen by the Nazis, hanging in a Berlin apartment in 1939.
In a simple order, the judge overturned the Ninth Circuit for the second time, saying that the fate of Claude Pizarro’s paintings should be determined under the conditions of new California law protecting the heirs of legitimate art lost during the Holocaust.
Repeatedly, a federal judge in Los Angeles and the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco “controlled the Spanish Museum, which legally obtained a painting called “St. Honoré” in the afternoon. More than 30 years ago there was a legitimate claim to own it.
However, this legal conclusion regarding the transfer of property was driven by the moral claim that stolen works of art must be returned from the Holocaust era.
In 2000, San Diego resident Claude Cassiller was surprised to learn that a painting he remembered from an apartment in Berlin hangs from a museum in Madrid.
After a successful attempt to return to the museum, he filed a lawsuit in 2005 in federal court in Los Angeles. Claude Cassiler passed away in 2010. His wife, Beverly, 2020.
Last year, the California Legislature changed state laws in response to the incident.
“For the Holocaust and its family survivors, the fight to regain ownership of art and other personal items stolen by the Nazis continues to hurt those who have already experienced something unimaginable,” Gavin News said when signing the bill. “Returning these precious and sentimental works to their legitimate owners is a moral and legal order, and we are proud to strengthen California law to ensure family justice.”
In response, the lawyers for the couple’s son, David Kassiler, filed a lawsuit to the Supreme Court, urging the judiciary to vacate or put the latest ruling for the Ninth Circuit.
The court did it on Monday.
It granted the appeal and ordered the Ninth Circuit to reconsider the suit under California’s new law.
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