The Artful Jurist

My father used to tell me that gumption and tenacity were the secrets to success. But here's a case that proves it's possible to take those things a bit too far.

According to an article in the Blog of Legal Times, a D.C. art dealer who also happens to have a law degree has been hammered with a court decision that ruled he must pay the other party's legal fees to the tune of $630,000.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld a lower court decision in a case where art dealer Robert Fastov sued Christie's over Fastov's unsuccessful attempt to sell a painting through the famed auction house. According to the article, Fastov filed a complaint that was more than 200 pages long back in 1997, and he maintained throughout that his tenacity would eventually win out.

So much for that theory.

The Court's ruling was not kind to Fastov, calling his conduct "egregious" and terming it "bad faith conduct."

So, while tenacity may be a helpful quality for a person to have, it's no substitute for a strong lawsuit.