Thursday, October 25, 2007

Is it me? (UPDATED)

I'm becoming more and more confused by the Fisk lawsuit.

First, Judge Lyle ruled in July that Fisk cannot sell O'Keeffe's Radiator Building or Hartley's Painting No. 3 (at least that's how Jonathan Marx reported it in The Nashville Tennessean).

So she set a Sept. trial date on the museum's claims that Fisk violated the conditions of O'Keeffe's gift — and therefore that the entire Stieglitz Collection should be turned over to the museum.

When Fisk and the museum tried to settle those claims (in a manner that would have put about $30 million in the school's coffers), she rejected it, in large part because she believed a better offer had emerged from the Crystal Bridges Museum.

But now, when Fisk comes to get her blessing to accept that better offer, she sets another trial date . . . for February of next year. This, despite the fact that the university has said it expects to run out of money some time in December.

I suppose it's possible that the news reports aren't accurately describing the nature of Hobbs's rulings, but, if they are, I'm at a loss to understand what's going on.

UPDATE: It's not just me.