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NewswireToday - /newswire/ -
Phoenix, AZ, United States, 04/28/2008 - Park West Galleries, a Michigan based company best known for selling art on board cruise ships, has filed a series of lawsuits against the consumer advocacy group which spoke out regarding reports of inflated prices and deceptive trade practices.
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Park West recently filed suits in Michigan and Florida against Phoenix-based Fine Art Registry and some of its personnel. The suits are clearly an attempt to stop the flow of information about Park West and to stem the tide of refund requests which have multiplied since the airing of the Inside Edition exposé and the beginning of Fine Art Registry advocacy. Park West also reacted heavily to Fine Art Registry raising questions about the authenticity of prints they sell of works by the Spanish painter, Salvador Dalí, many of them coming from the Italian Albaretto family, and about their five-figure prices.
Fine Art Registry published articles on its website exposing some of the irregularities reported to occur in the cruise line “art auctions” by attendees of these auctions who were in many cases promised huge bargains and investment quality art which they bought, only to find out they had purchased items for far more than they could get them for at home.
Victims of these abuses (which have been reported on many websites) began contacting Fine Art Registry and becoming members of the organization, posting on the Fine Art Registry forum and asking for help with their plight. Fine Art Registry has so far spoken to over 60 such victims and helped educate them as to their purchases. As a result, many of these people contacted Park West demanding refunds or rescission of deals. Park West has apparently so far refunded or agreed to refund or rescind sales worth over $750,000, in each case requiring that the customer sign a release, waiver and confidentiality agreement which forbids them to divulge the fact that Park West settled or the terms under which they settled, and requires the buyer to release to Park West any past present or future emails or other correspondence about the artwork. They have also tried to coerce statements from Fine Art Registry members about Fine Art Registry and other sources of information which the customers referred to in evaluating their purchases to for help in demanding the refunds.
Fine Art Registry has commissioned or written a number of factual articles, case studies, and investigatory reports in an attempt to expose the abuses and warn potential victims of fraud ahead of time. These are all available on the Fine Art Registry website and more are in the preparation stage. These articles, which are based mainly on experiences reported by Park West customers or by Park West personnel are the sole exhibits presented by Park West in its lawsuits against Fine Art Registry.
Park West claim that their pricing is competitive and fair. However, sources inside Park West who have communicated with Fine Art Registry, state otherwise. They have provided actual pricing information about Park West’s sales. Following is a quote from one such source with reference to a print sold to a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania doctor:
“The cost to PWG from Peter Max Studios was $6,050.00 with a framing cost of $70.00. According to PWG the ‘appraised’ value is $39,500. It was just recently sold on 8/24/2007 for $31,510.00. to V. S. by Jason Davey on the Celebrity Summit.” This is one example. The customer in question is a Fine Art Registry member who was subsequently refunded the full amount after much protest from Park West.
Commenting on the lawsuits filed, CEO of Fine Art Registry, Theresa Franks said, “These types of malicious, meritless lawsuits are simply an attempt to silence us. We have not stated one single untruth on our website or to any of our members and Park West refused to comment or provide their side of the story when contacted. We have reported the facts available to us, including over 60 personal stories of misrepresentation and deception, and information from inside sources to the authorities and to the media and will continue to do so as long as there are abuses on the part of Park West and other cruise line art dealers or anywhere else in the art industry. The Fine Art Registry mission is defined by transparency and ethics in the art industry.”
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dphillips[.]fineartregistry.com 
