A blue and white inspected gingham gown, used by Judy Garland in the “Wizard of Oz,” holds on screen, Monday, April 25, 2022, at Bonhams in New York.
Katie Vasquez|AP
This “Wizard of Oz” gown might be off to see the auction home soon.
A federal judge in New York on Monday dismissed a suit challenging the ownership of a gown used by Judy Garland when she played Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” which for more than a year had actually held up a scheduled auction of the storied garment by The Catholic University of America.
Judge Paul Gardephe provided the complainant, Barbara Hartke, 10 days to provide an argument regarding why he ought to not raise an injunction that has actually obstructed the auction because mid-2022
In his judgment, Gardephe composed that Barbara Hartke had actually stopped working to develop that she had legal standing to assert an ownership right in the “Oz” gown, which formerly was owned by the Wisconsin female’s uncle, the lateRev Gilbert Hartke, a long time teacher at CatholicUniversity The school, situated in Washington, D.C., states it is the owner of the gown.
Anthony Scordo III, Barbara Hartke’s attorney, informed CNBC on Monday that he wishes to quickly have her designated as an administrator of her uncle’s estate, which might enable her to restore her legal claim to the gown’s ownership.
“We’re not out of the box yet,” stated Scordo.
He likewise prepares to argue to the judge that it would be “premature to lift the injunction” obstructing the auction while Barbara still may have premises to object to the ownership.
In a declaration, Catholic University stated that it “is very encouraged and pleased that the motion to dismiss was granted and looks forward to reaching finality in this case in the coming weeks.”
Gilbert Hartke, who had actually functioned as chairman of the university’s drama department, got the blue and white gown from the Oscar- winning starlet Mercedes McCambridge, who was a good friend ofGarland’s The gown is thought to be among 6 used by Garland in the 1939 movie. Garland passed away in 1969; McCambridge in 2004.
After Father Hartke passed away in 1986, the gown was missing out on for years, however then was discovered in 2021 in a garbage bag above professors mail slots throughout a restoration of the Hartke Theater at the university.
Catholic University contracted with the Bonhams auction home in March 2022 to offer the gown in NewYork The gown was anticipated to bring in between $800,000 to $1.2 million at auction.
But that sale was postponed when Barbara Hartke took legal action against both the university and Bonhams in Manhattan federal court in 2015.
Gardephe’s judgment Monday dismissing her claim kept in mind that Father Hartke had actually taken a vow of hardship when he ended up being a priest of the Dominican order in1933 In that vow, Hartke renounced his ownership of “temporal goods,” and accepted turn over his income to the College of the Immaculate Conception.
The judge composed that Barbara Hartke’s claim, which asserts that the gown comes from her uncle’s estate, stopped working to plead realities showing that she is a “real part of interest.”
The judgment likewise keeps in mind that there is absolutely nothing in the court record to reveal that she has actually been designated an individual agent of her uncle’s estate regardless of her having actually petitioned the D.C. Probate Court for that function.
As an outcome, “she lacks standing to bring this action,” Gardephe composed.
The judge left the door open for Barbara Hartke to change her claim to make another argument for legal standing. But Gardephe kept in mind that “it appears doubtful” that such a claim would prosper.
Barbara Hartke’s attorney Scordo informed CNBC that got the case declare her uncle’s estate from Probate Court just in October, long after they were asked for, which there has actually been no judgment yet on her application to be designated individual agent for the estate.
