Brown Univ. In Providence In State v. Tharpe
| Decision Date | 04 June 2013 |
| Docket Number | ACTION NO. 4:10CV167 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia |
| Parties | BROWN UNIVERSITY in Providence in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Plaintiff, v. DONALD R. THARPE And TONI M. THARPE, Defendants. |
In this case, Brown University ("Brown") invokes the equitable remedy of detinue to recover a Tiffany presentation sword ("Tiffany Sword" or the "Sword") it claims was stolen from its collection more than 30 years ago. The Defendants, Donald R. Tharpe and Toni M. Tharpe (for simplicity, hereafter "Tharpe"), acquired the Sword from a collector in 1992, and oppose Brown's claim on the grounds that they are bona fide purchasers. Tharpe also claims Brown's long delay in asserting its rights should bar its recovery of the Sword under the doctrine of laches.
Following a bench trial, and for the reasons set forth in detail below, the Court FINDS that the Tiffany Sword was stolen from Brown prior to 1977. As a result, Tharpe's claim to bona fide purchaser status would not defeat the University's detinue action. In addition, although Brown could have pursued recovery with greater zeal, its delay in filing this action was primarily due to the deliberate efforts of Tharpe's predecessor, who attempted to thwart its recovery whenthe Sword first surfaced in 1992. Moreover, Tharpe cannot demonstrate any prejudice resulting from Brown's delay, and as a result has not proved the affirmative defense of laches.
The parties stipulated to most of the relevant history and presented testimony by deposition and two witnesses at trial. In addition, the Court examined the Sword, its presentation box, documents of title, and related articles and correspondence. These exhibits, the parties' stipulations, and testimony at trial established the following facts.
In May 1863, 50 prominent citizens of New York presented a Tiffany Silver Presentation Sword to Colonel Rush C. Hawkins ("Col. Hawkins"), to recognize his service to the country during the first two years of the Civil War. The Tiffany Sword, along with an ornamental scabbard, was presented to Col. Hawkins in a wooden presentation box lined with blue velvet. The box had Col. Hawkins' initials on it, as did the guard of the Tiffany Sword. The blade of the Sword is inscribed with the names of battles and engagements of the 9th New York Volunteers, known as the Hawkins' Zouaves, the regiment led by Col. Hawkins. Carved into the grip of the Sword is the figure of a Zouave soldier in uniform, standing watch. The scabbard is also inscribed:
Following his military service, Col. Hawkins returned to the practice of law in New York. His financial success, and a particular interest, led him to accumulate one of the world's largest private collections of incunabula, or early examples of printed books. In 1903, Col. Hawkins created a Memorial Corporation, to honor the memory of his late wife, AnnmaryBrown, a descendent of the founders of Brown University. The corporate charter authorized the Memorial to "maintain[ ] and preserve[ ] a museum collection for the benefit of the public." (Trial Ex. 8). In 1907 Col. Hawkins endowed the Annmary Brown Memorial with his extensive collection of incunabula, as well as paintings, artifacts of his Civil War service, and other items collected during his career. Included in the endowment were the Tiffany Sword and another sword presented to Col. Hawkins by his troops. The second sword was presented to Col. Hawkins in 1862 by the sergeants and enlisted men of the regiment following an engagement in North Carolina (the "Roanoke Island Sword"). Under the terms of the deed of indenture conveying these items, all of the collection was to be kept in the Memorial building and never removed except for the use of scholars under the immediate supervision of the collection's curator, or as necessary for "repair or restoration." (Trial Ex. 9).
Both swords and the remainder of Annmary Brown Memorial's collection were conveyed to Brown by a decree of the Superior Court of Rhode Island in 1948. Like the original indenture, the decree required that "the collections shall forever remain deposited" in the Memorial building. Brown was directed to comply, as much as it was able, with Col. Hawkins' desire that "the building and collections be maintained and preserved for the benefit of the public." (Trial Ex. 10). From 1948 until 1971, both swords were kept in the Memorial, a building on the grounds of Brown University. In 1971, John Stanley ("Stanley"), went to work for Brown as an administrator with the John Hay Library. In this capacity, Stanley first viewed both swords which were then kept in separate storages cases atop a cabinet in the painting storage room in the Memorial. Between 1971 and 1974, Stanley saw the Tiffany Sword three or four times. He also saw the Sword's presentation box on other occasions when he did not open the box to view or show the Tiffany Sword.
The Annmary Brown Memorial was closed for budget reasons between 1975 and 1977. During this time various people had access to the building including campus security, janitorial and maintenance staff. The boilers for the Memorial which required regular maintenance were in a room immediately adjacent to the painting storage room.
In 1977 the Memorial reopened under the supervision of Samuel Hough. Hough organized an exhibition of the Memorial's artifacts to mark the reopening, and when Stanley noticed that neither of the two swords were among the artifacts displayed, he inquired of Hough why they were omitted. Stanley took Hough to the painting storage room where the two men discovered both swords missing. Both the case for the Roanoke Island Sword and the presentation box for the Tiffany Sword were still on the cabinet where they had been. On opening the presentation box, however, the ornamental scabbard and Tiffany Sword, which fit precisely in a shaped depression in the velvet lining, were missing. Also missing was the Roanoke Island Sword and one of its two scabbards. Other items were also missing, including two silver candlesticks, a silver soup tureen, serving pieces and an ivory inlaid box. Wrappings from some of these other items were found in disarray. Hough reported the missing artifacts to the University Librarian in a written memo dated April 22, 1977, but the University made no report of the loss to authorities. The University was self-insured for theft losses, and Stanley testified that reporting the loss might discourage other donors from loaning artifacts to the school.
In January 1979, an antiques dealer named George Lower purchased the Tiffany Sword and ornamental scabbard from another collector, David K. Grossman, for $6,250.00. At the time the Sword was in poor condition with the scabbard dented such that the Sword could barely be removed from it. The blade of the Sword had also pitted badly. George Lower had located theSword with the assistance of Dennis Lowe, who was described by the parties as a "picker." After restoring the Sword, Lower traded it later that same year to another collector named Robert Harper ("Harper").
Harper kept the Sword from 1979 until 1992. He occasionally took it to shows in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and Baltimore, Maryland, but otherwise kept it in the den of his home in his private collection. Tharpe first saw the Tiffany Sword in the 1980s at a gathering of arms collectors in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. An avid collector himself, Tharpe expressed interest in buying the Sword on multiple occasions, but Harper told him it was not for sale. Eventually, Harper agreed that if he ever did sell the Tiffany Sword, Tharpe would receive a right of first refusal.
In 1991, Donald Troiani ("Troiani"), a military and historical artist who had a connection to Brown, saw the Tiffany Sword at a show in Baltimore where Harper had it displayed. Troiani was aware that the Sword was missing from Brown and telephoned a Brown librarian, Catherine Denning, to advise that Harper had it. Denning passed this information on to Stanley in the form of a phone message reflecting the source of the information (Troiani) and Harper's name and mailing address. Troiani related that he did not want his name used in connection with the report. Troiani also advised that he had learned from a friend that Harper acquired the Sword from George Lower six or seven years earlier. Stanley advised Brown's general counsel.
In September 1991, Brown retained attorney Jeffrey Michaelson ("Michaelson") to pursue Troiani's tip that the Sword was with Harper. Michaelson wrote Harper directly to request an opportunity to inspect the Sword. Michaelson's initial letter to Harper described the Sword in detail, including accurately quoting word-for-word the inscription on the ornamental scabbard. Michaelson's 1991 letter to Harper stated that the Sword had been stolen from Brown"approximately ten years ago." (Trial Ex. 17). Harper hired attorney Steven McArdle ("McArdle") to represent him in the matter and McArdle wrote to request additional information describing the Sword, as well as details concerning Brown's ownership and the date it was discovered stolen. In a second and third exchange of correspondence Michaelson provided additional details, including news articles contemporaneous with the establishment of the Memorial, and book excerpts describing the Tiffany Sword in greater detail. These materials included a detailed description of the Sword, which included the carved depiction on the grip of a Zouave soldier in uniform, the names of the battles engraved on the blade, and the figure of Medusa on the band of the scabbard. These details match exactly the easily-observable features of the Tiffany Sword. Michaelson also revised his earlier estimate of the...
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