Supreme Court stays art case

By Anne-Marie O'Connor

The U.S. Supreme Court granted a temporary stay Monday of a recent decision by an appellate court that would have allowed a Nazi art theft case to go forward in a Los Angeles federal court.

The plaintiff, Maria Altmann, 87, of West Los Angeles, is suing Austria to reclaim six paintings by Gustav Klimt valued at $150 million that are now owned by the Austrian national museum.

Austria asked the Supreme Court for a stay last week after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on April 28 denied Austria's requested for reconsideration of a previous decision allowing the lawsuit to go to trial in Los Angeles. Austria maintains U.S. courts have no jurisdiction in the case. The stay is in effect pending a decision by the Supreme Court to review the case. If it decides not to, the stay will be lifted.