United States v. Portrait of Wally

OPINION and ORDER

MUKASEY, District Judge.

Defendant in rem Portrait of Wally, a painting by Egon Schiele (“the painting”), was brought into the United States to be shown at the Museum of Modern Art (“MoMA”), on loan from an Austrian museum, Leopold Museum-Privatsiftung (“the Leopold”). The United States claims that the painting is stolen, and seeks its forfeiture under 19 U.S.C. § 1595a(c) (1994) and 22 U.S.C. § 401(a) (1994). The Leopold moves to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). For the reasons stated below, I find that under controlling law, the painting…