Elton John wins damages over fake statues

07/06/2007 3:32 PM, Reuters
Jonathan Cohen

Elton John has won 116,000 euros ($157,700) in damages and costs from a Paris art dealer who sold him sculptures supposedly dating from the 18th century that turned out to be fake, according to court papers.

In a judgment issued on June 26, the dealer, Jean Renoncourt, was ordered to pay the singer the purchase price of $360,000 plus interest from the time the statues were sold in 1996. He was also ordered to take back the statues.

The four statues, representing figures from Greek mythology, were sold as the work of the Italian sculptor Luigi Grossi, who died in 1795.

According to an expert judgment commissioned by the court, the sculptures were determined to date from the late 20th century.

The judgment comes after a long legal battle by the singer, who discovered the forgery when he had the statues assessed for insurance purposes. In 2003, he was ordered to pay Renoncourt 21,000 euros in legal costs after an attempt to win damages was dismissed for lack of evidence.