Faggionato v. Lerner
United District Court for the Southern District of New York
500 F. Supp. 2d 237 (2007)
Anne Faggionato (plaintiff), a UK citizen and art dealer, located a Monet painting in France for Randolph Lerner (defendant), a U.S. citizen who wanted to buy it. Lerner traveled to France to view the painting and said he intended to buy it, but asked for further documentation and the identity of the owners. Faggionato said the owners would be revealed "in due course" but never named them, and Lerner backed out over transparency concerns. Faggionato sued Lerner in federal court for the $13 million sale price. The court determined French law applied because the key events occurred in France, and both sides submitted competing expert testimony on French contract law.
Whether expert testimony is admissible in American federal courts to prove foreign law.