Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Momart Settlement

The Guardian reports that Momart Ltd, the London art storage outfit that went up in flames in 2004, destroying hundreds of artworks, has settled claims against it for "tens of millions of pounds." A class action lawsuit alleged that the warehouse was "wholly unsuitable for high-value fine art, had inadequate fire detection and was a disaster waiting to happen." Estimates at the time of the fire put the losses to artists, collectors, galleries, and insurance companies at £30-50m.

An earlier, exhaustive Guardian story is here. There's a good Wikipedia entry here.