WASHINGTON -- A California woman can sue to retrieve $150 million worth of family paintings stolen by the Nazis, the Supreme Court ruled Monday in opening American courts to World War II-era disputes the Bush administration had wanted settled diplomatically. The ruling was celebrated by Jewish leaders, who hope for jury verdicts while some Holocaust survivors still are alive. The court ruled 6-3 vote that 88-year-old Maria Altmann could pursue a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles that seeks to force Austria to turn over six Gustav Klimt paintings that include portraits of her aunt. The paintings are among an estimated 600,000 art works the Nazis stole during Adolf Hitler's rule in Germany.
Posted by Editor at June 8, 2004 03:13 PM