Celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz has bought more time to deal with her financial woes.
A New York judge granted Leibovitz an extra month to respond to a lawsuit filed by Art Capital Group, which loaned her US$24 million last year. Art Capital has accused Leibovitz of reneging on an agreement that made the lending firm the exclusive agent for selling her real-estate holdings and photographs.
Leibovitz, who turns 60 next month, now has until Oct. 1 to respond under Wednesday’s ruling by New York State Supreme Court Justice Bernard Fried. A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 2.
The decision doesn’t affect Leibovitz’s obligation to pay back Art Capital by Tuesday. Even if she doesn’t meet the deadline, some legal experts said the firm may not declare her in default because it could force her into bankruptcy.
“Declaring her in default may be like nuclear weapons,” said attorney Thomas Kline, a partner in the Washington office of Andrews Kurth LLP who specializes in art law and litigation. “It would make it more urgent and helpful for her to declare bankruptcy and come under a protection of the bankruptcy court.”
Art Capital may prefer to settle out of court, Kline said.
“We hope this can be resolved but are prepared to protect our rights in any scenario that unfolds,” Art Capital spokesman Montieth Illingworth said.
Leibovitz’s lawyer, Steven Brawer of Lowenstein Sandler PC in Rosedale, New Jersey, declined to say whether the sides were engaged in settlement talks.
If Leibovitz doesn’t repay the loan, she might lose her three brownstones in Manhattan’s West Village as well as a 92 hectare property in Rhinebeck, New York, that once belonged to the Astor family. The properties might be worth as much as US$40 million, real-estate brokers said, and her photographs have been valued at more than US$50 million by Art Capital.
Art Capital might try to work out a deal allowing Leibovitz to avoid foreclosure in exchange for more fees, new collateral or higher interest rates, said Marc Abrams, head of bankruptcy and restructuring at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in New York. Abrams isn’t involved in the Leibovitz case.
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