Billionaire computer mogul sues Santa Fe gallery

28 February 2011

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Art collector Norman Waitt, whose billion-dollar fortune came from the 1991 sale of his Gateway computer company, has filed a lawsuit against Santa Fe art dealer Gerald Peters over a painting he says is worth only a sixth of what he paid, and that the gallery won't take it back.

Waitt accuses Peters of reneging on a verbal agreement through which Waitt would take paintings home "on approval," and exchange them or get a refund if he wished. The collector, who has purchased about 50 paintings from the gallery, says he has done this a number of times.

According to Waitt, the painting by Samuel Seymour (1775-1825) had been given a value of $1.2 million by Peters in February 2008, but it is now estimated to be worth no more than $200,000. Waitt says in his complaint that he tried to return the painting in August or September of 2008.

Peters, who is also based in New York, maintains that the gallery has acted properly.

In a written statement to The New Mexican, Peters said: "This will be the third court where Mr. Waitt has made these claims. Mr. Waitt has had three bites at the apple and it feels like harassment to me. In its most favorable light it is buyer's remorse, likely caused by the economic downturn."

Read more at Santa Fe New Mexican

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