Canadian Lawyer

12 M a r c h 2 0 1 4 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m show opened a week after the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001. It was a disaster. Hardly anyone came and the MacLaren sustained a huge $750,000 loss, a loss so deep it pushed the Barrie art gallery perilously close to financial ruin. The plaster has been equally unlucky for its owners. Vogeli and DeLuca origi- nally obtained "Walking Man" in 1998 for $62,500 as part of what DiTomaso characterized as an "art flip." The plan was to donate what they believed was an important Rodin plaster to a registered charity and receive a handsome tax receipt in exchange. But the Canada Revenue Agency did not like the shape of the arrangement and somewhat unexpectedly refused any tax benefit. Then it turned out the art dealer who sold the Rodin to Vogeli and DeLuca was a convicted fraud- ster who has been prosecuted in France. The lawyers, however, remain convinced the work is genuine. In a trial late last year in Barrie, the Ontario court never got around to set- tling any of the key questions surround- ing the broken statue. Instead it ruled the issues need not be decided because, in its view, the Calgary lawyers had waited too long to bring their claim before the court . . . only a month too long but still too long under the Limitations Act. Given the lawyers were experienced litigators and knowledgeable about the art world the court was not prepared to give them any breaks. The court did grant a counterclaim by the gallery for storage fees of about $8,500. Then, of course there were costs. Just days before Christmas the same court determined Vogeli and DeLuca owed the MacLaren $119,000 in court costs. While Vogeli did not want to give Canadian Lawyer an on-the-record interview, he did confirm if the appeal court overturns the Superior Court ruling and allows their claim against MacLaren to proceed, then he and DeLuca would seek a settlement with the gallery. Previous efforts to settle the matter out-of-court have all failed. If and when this matter is ever settled the question remains, what will happen to the damaged Rodin which is appar- ently beyond repair? Will it end up in a box in someone's basement? Or more intriguingly, will the shattered pieces in the hands of another artist become the foundation of a new work of art? — Geoff eLLwAND writerlaw@gmail.com RegioNAl wRAp-up two calgary lawyers, oNe gallery, aNd a shattered rodiN continued from page 11 read Longo v. MacLaren at canlii.ca/t/g1r8w. TIME: EVENT: Part-time, Executive LLM program for corporate counsel, government and practising lawyers http://www.law.utoronto.ca/programs/GPLLM.html SPECIALIZATION IN BUSINESS LAW Classes Starting in September 2014 Upcoming Information Sessions: Thursday March 13 12:00 to 2:00 pm Tuesday March 25 12:00 to 2:00 pm Tuesday Apr. 1 12:00 to 2:00 pm Thursday Apr. 3 12:00 to 2:00 pm U of T Faculty of Law, Room FA3 84 Queens Park Crescent West, Toronto Please RSVP to: 416-978-1400 / gpllm@utoronto.ca Untitled-1 1 14-02-12 3:48 PM

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