Lawsuit

In September, Maria Altmann announced that she would file a lawsuit in Austria to vindicate her claim.  However, the government had more in store for her. First, it was necessary to apply for a waiver of the enormous court costs required to bring a lawsuit in Austria.  These court costs are based on the value of the recovery that is sought and in this case would total several million dollars, far beyond what Mrs. Altmann, who still works as a specialty dress supplier at age 84, can afford.

However, in November, the Austrian court granted Mrs. Altmann and the other heirs only a partial waiver, and ruled that they were required to spend $400,000 or all the assets at their disposal – essentially their entire life savings – in order to proceed.  This is in addition to the risk of paying costs to the opposing side more than $500,000 if the heirs lose the case before an Austrian judge.  Not content with even this impossible ruling, in December the Austrian government appealed the court’s decision, arguing that the amount Mrs. Altmann and the other heirs should have to pay should include the value of the porcelain and drawings that were finally returned to them, after lengthy bureaucratic delays, in November.  Despite Gehrer’s earlier invitation, Austria clearly is behaving as if it does not want the Bloch-Bauer case decided in a court of law.