Lindt v. Henshel

• Court: New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Writing for the Court: FULD
• Citation: Lindt v. Henshel, 306 N.Y.S.2d 436, 25 N.Y.2d 357, 254 N.E.2d 746 (N.Y. 1969)
• Decision Date: 26 November 1969
• Parties: , 254 N.E.2d 746 Ileana B. LINDT, Appellant, v. Emily B. HENSHEL et al., Individually and as Executrices of Arde Bulova, Deceased, Defendants, and Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Respondent.

Page 436

306 N.Y.S.2d 436

25 N.Y.2d 357, 254 N.E.2d 746

Ileana B. LINDT, Appellant, v. Emily B. HENSHEL et al., Individually and as Executrices of Arde Bulova, Deceased, Defendants, and Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation, Respondent.

Court of Appeals of New York.

Nov. 26, 1969.

Pamfil A. Riposanu, New York City, for appellant.

Rayner M. Hamilton, Simon Rose, A. Chauncey Newlin and David Hartfield, Jr., New York City, for respondent, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.

Simon Rose, New York City, for Emily B. Henshel and Louise Guilden as executrices.

FULD, Chief Judge.

The plaintiff, claiming to be its owner, brought this action to recover possession of a sculpture which, shortly after her husband's death, had been delivered to the Guggenheim Museum by his executrices. Judgment has gone against the plaintiff and, on this appeal, here by our leave, the question to be decided is whether a husband's later payment for an objet d'art purchased by his wife is, without more, sufficient to vest title in the husband.

On December 7, 1955, Parke-Bernet Galleries held an auction and among the works advertised for sale was a marble head by Constantin Brancusi, a great modern sculptor, entitled 'The Muse (Repose).' Both the plaintiff and the artist were born in Rumania and hailed from the same town. They had been good friends for many years and conversed in their native tongue when they were together. Indeed, he had given her lessons in sculpturing. ¹ Intent on acquiring her friend's statue, she attended the auction and bid on it. Her bid of $7,000 was high, the piece was knocked down to her, she was listed on Parke-Bernet's records as the purchaser and the invoice was rendered to her for the amount of her bid.

When Mr. Bulova learned of his wife's purchase of the sculpture and the price paid for it, he discussed the matter with a close friend and business associate. He testified that Mr. Bulova was 'upset' and expressed amazement and disbelief at the thought that anybody would pay 'so much for a piece of stone like that'. But, he added, 'if she (his wife) likes it, she can have it,' and two weeks after the sale he sent his check to Parke-Bernet for the amount of his wife's bid. The sculpture, a marble head of a girl, was thereupon delivered to the Pierre Hotel, where the couple lived, and placed on a pedestal in the foyer of their apartment.

Some two years later, in October, 1957, the couple had a serious quarrel and Mr. Bulova had the plaintiff physically evicted from their home. She was able to take with her only such personal belongings as could be packed in an overnight bag. However, the plaintiff's attorney wrote to the husband a few weeks later, demanding that he deliver to her the Brancusi 'marble,' as well as several other works of art which were still in the apartment. The demand was ignored.

Mr. Bulova died on March 18, 1958. He left a will in which he discharged and released his wife from any indebtedness to him; his two sisters, Mrs. Henshel and Mrs. Guilden, were named as executrices of his estate. On March 28, 10 days after his death and about two months before her appointment as executrix, Mrs. Guilden delivered the Brancusi to the Guggenheim Foundation as a 'gift.'

Shortly after the probate of the will, the plaintiff filed a formal claim against the estate, demanding delivery of her '(p)ersonal * * * effects' in the possession of the deceased prior to his death. The claim was later amended to explicitly include the Brancusi as being among such '(p)ersonal effects'. Upon rejection of her claim, the plaintiff instituted the present suit, alleging two causes of action. The first is directed against the two executrices, the second against the Foundation, and in both she seeks a judgment declaring her to be the owner of the sculpture and entitled to its immediate possession. ²

Upon the trial, the defendants placed principal reliance upon an alleged presumption that the person who pays for personal property, particularly for furniture and household articles, is its owner. On the other hand, the plaintiff maintained that she had already acquired the right to the sculpture when her bid was accepted by the auctioneer and that her husband's subsequent payment of the bill did not divest her of that right. In addition, she argued, even if her husband were to be considered the purchaser of the piece, the fact that he permitted it to be transferred in her name and delivered to her created a presumption that a gift was intended. The trial court found for the defendants, concluding that 'title to personal property resides in the party supplying the consideration for the same.' The Appellate Division affirmed the resulting judgment in favor of the Guggenheim Foundation--the only defendant before it--and, as indicated, we granted leave to appeal. ³

Although there may be some instances where, as the courts below held, title to personal property may be presumed to vest in the person furnishing the consideration, this is not the rule where the purchase is actually made pursuant to a contract of sale entered into by another for his or her own benefit. To hold otherwise might well cause confusion whenever a buyer looks to another party to finance his purchase. In the present case, it is our conclusion, based on the evidence adduced, that, as a matter of law, the plaintiff had contracted to purchase the statue at the time her bid was accepted by the auctioneer and that it became hers regardless of the source from which she obtained the funds to pay for it. ⁴

In reaching this result, we rely on the undisputed fact that it was the plaintiff who, on her own initiative and without any prior arrangement with her husband, attended the auction and bought the statue. The bid card was signed by her, the price was charged to her account and the invoice was rendered and sent to her. When the auctioneer accepted her bid, the sale was complete and the demands of the Statute of Frauds fully satisfied by the auctioneer's memorandum (Personal Property Law, ConsolLaws, c. 41, § 31, subd. 6 (now General Obligations Law, Consol.Laws, c. 24--A, § 5--701, subd. 6)). In other words, before her husband became involved in any way in the transaction, the gallery had become fully obligated to deliver the statue to the plaintiff, and she alone was liable for the payment of the purchase price.

Our decision might have been different if there had been any indication in the proof that the plaintiff had made the purchase as her husband's agent. The record before us, however, leaves no doubt that she was acting solely on her own behalf and that it was she alone who desired and intended to purchase the Brancusi. She had been the artist's pupil and was his friend. To her, the statue had a personal appeal and value beyond and quite apart from its artistic merit and worth. To her husband, in sharp contrast, the sculpture had little meaning and less value. Even if we were to discount--as the trial judge may have--the impact of the testimony...