Pryor Cashman is representing Hong Kong-based crypto entrepreneur and art collector Justin Sun in a high-profile legal dispute with mega collector David Geffen over ownership of Le Nez, a 1949–65 Modernist sculpture by Alberto Giacometti that sold at Sotheby's New York for $78.4 million in 2021.
Sun has sued Geffen, claiming the sculpture was stolen and sold without his knowledge by a former employee named Xiong Zihan Sydney. Geffen has countersued, alleging that Sun is experiencing "seller's remorse" and concocted a story to claw back the sculpture. The piece remains in New York, where the litigation is underway.
Sun is represented by Partner William Charron, co-chair of the Art Law Group. In responding to Geffen's counterclaims, Charron issued the following additional statement:
"As explained in today's filing, we view Mr. Geffen's counterclaims as desperate and bizarre. He is clinging to the fiction that Sydney Xiong was not a thief. But Sydney Xiong has been in a detention center in China since February because of her theft. The real question in this case should be how she got away with her theft for as long as she did, and whether she had help. We look forward to uncovering those facts in this litigation. Mr. Geffen's counterclaims do not intimidate Mr. Sun—this case will be aggressively pursued."
The dispute has drawn significant attention from both the art and crypto communities.
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