Phillips v. Pembroke Real Estate, Inc.

Sculptor Phillips (plaintiff) created site-specific artwork arranged along a diagonal axis through Eastport Park for property owner Pembroke Real Estate (defendant), which later redesigned the park in a way requiring the sculptures' removal and relocation. Phillips sued for injunctive relief under the Massachusetts Art Preservation Act (MAPA), which protects "fine art" from physical alteration or destruction for 50 years after the artist's death; the district court found the sculptures' placement along the park's axis was integral to the work and limited Pembroke's ability to alter or remove them, and certified questions to the state's highest court on whether site-specific art counts as "fine art" under MAPA and whether removal counts as prohibited "destruction."