## Facts

- Fritz Grunbaum, a Jewish Viennese cabaret artist and art collector, owned an 81-piece Egon Schiele collection before World War II.
- After the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938, Grunbaum was arrested and remained imprisoned in concentration camps until his death in Nazi custody in 1941.
- While Grunbaum was imprisoned, the Nazis forced him to execute a power of attorney in favor of his wife, Elisabeth.
- Acting under Nazi coercion, Elisabeth was compelled to allow a Nazi official to inventory Grunbaum’s property, including the Schiele collection, and the collection was deposited with a Nazi-controlled firm.
- Two works on paper from the collection—*Woman Hiding Her Face* (1912) and *Woman in a Black Pinafore* (1911)—later surfaced in the international art market.
- Plaintiffs, co-executors of estates and legally declared heirs of Grunbaum, sued defendant art dealer Richard Nagy and his company in New York for replevin and conversion in 2016.
- The trial court granted plaintiffs summary judgment, ordered turnover of the artworks, and awarded damages, costs, and attorney’s fees.
- Defendants appealed, arguing plaintiffs had not established superior title as a matter of law and that factual disputes existed concerning any transfer during the Nazi era.

## Issues

1. Whether plaintiffs established prima facie entitlement to summary judgment that they held superior title and the right to possession of the artworks.
2. Whether defendants raised a triable issue of material fact that Grunbaum (or his wife acting with valid authority) voluntarily transferred the artworks such that defendants could claim lawful title or possession.

## Decision

- The Appellate Division affirmed summary judgment for plaintiffs on replevin and conversion.
- The court held plaintiffs made a prima facie showing of superior title as heirs to works owned by Grunbaum and taken during the Nazi era.
- The court held defendants failed to raise a triable issue that any transfer was voluntary or legally effective under the circumstances.
- The court affirmed the order directing defendants to return the artworks to plaintiffs.

## Legal Principles

- On summary judgment, once a plaintiff shows superior title/right to possession in replevin, the burden shifts to the defendant to produce evidence sufficient to raise a factual dispute as to a valid transfer or superior right.
- Transfers purportedly effected through Nazi-era coercion, including forced instruments and compelled handling of property, do not constitute voluntary conveyances sufficient to defeat the original owner’s (and heirs’) title.
- A conversion claim is established where a defendant exercises unauthorized dominion or control over property inconsistent with the rights of the party holding superior title.

## Conclusion

The court affirmed turnover of two Schiele works to Grunbaum’s heirs, ruling that evidence of Grunbaum’s ownership and Nazi-era taking established superior title as a matter of law and that defendants offered no triable proof of a voluntary, valid transfer that could defeat replevin and conversion claims.


Reif v. Nagy, 175 A.D.3d 107 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dep’t 2019)