Gallery Owners Sue Art Distributor
Three lawsuits filed by current and former Michigan art gallery owners against Media Arts Inc. accuse the company of saturating the market the work of Thomas Kinkade.
The suits, filed in Wayne Country Circuit Court, allege a glut of Kinkade works left galleries with debt and overstock, The Detroit News reported.
Morgan Hill, Calif.-based Media Arts says a small minority of its gallery partners got into financial trouble and want the distributor to bail them out.
The company says it works to maintain good relations with its Thomas Kinkade Signature Galleries, but recently moved to terminate its contract with Birmingham gallery owner Jim Cote, chairman of the Media Arts Signature Dealers Council.
Media Arts says Cote owes the company money. Cote’s attorney contends the move was prompted by the lawsuit his client filed against the distributor March 17.
David and Nancy White of Bloomfield Hills filed the first Michigan suit last April. Brian and Andrea Wittman of Kalamazoo followed in October. Both Couples have closed their galleries.
The gallery owners contend that Media Arts flooded retail outlets with cheap versions of Kinkade’s paintings – meaning a painting on paper could be sold for $200 or less, while a limited-edition canvas lithograph would be priced in the thousands at their galleries.
Brian Wittman said he saw the same books, throws and pillows he sold in his Kalamazoo store for much lower prices at discount retailers, while Media Arts did not allow galleries to discount their merchandise.
“That’s when we knew it was over,” Wittman said. “My gift business was pretty much dying in front of me.”
The plaintiffs also argue that Media Arts approved too many gallery openings in a limited area.
Media Arts says the Michigan suits, and a few others in California and Texas, involve less than a dozen out of nearly 300 gallery owners.
“We want out partners to be successful,” said Media Arts’ Chief Operating Officer Steve Paszkiewicz. “We don’t want to have over-saturation in any part of the country.
Paszkiewicz said Media Arts has about 3,000 distribution partners, including 267 independently owned Signature Galleries.
Norman Yatooma, the attorney representing the three Michigan plaintiffs, is asking the court to certify the claims and others as a nationwide class-action lawsuit.
The Whites estimate they lost $2.4 million over the four years they owned galleries and the Wittmans said they accumulated $100,000 in debt during the past two years.
