Journals
Wednesday,Aug 12 2009, 06:17:35 PMCruise Passenger Told To Leave In Art Auction Ro..
The Independent (UK)
Art - Cruise passenger told to leave in art auction row
American teacher, Mark Jacobs, was ejected from his 12 day cruise with Royal Caribbean in Oslo, Norway port for critizing onboard Park West Gallery art auction. Cahal Milmo reports for the UK newspaper, The Independent.
July 18, 2009 The Independent.
Read the news article online here The Independent.
Wednesday,Aug 12 2009, 06:15:47 PMClass Action Lawsuit No. 5 Filed Against At Sea...
Or the Park West Gallery Lawsuit Collection
On July 29, 2009, nationwide class action lawsuit No. 5 was filed against Park West Gallery and its affiliates (PWG Florida, Fine Art Sales, Vista Fine Art, and Park West at Sea). Also named personally for his active involvement with the alleged deceptive and fraudulent schemes and practices is Park West Gallery's CEO Albert Scaglione. Also being sued this time around is Carnival Corporation, Carnival plc, and Carnival Cruise Line.
It won't be long before the "Park West Gallery Lawsuit Collection" will rival the Park West Gallery art collection. Perhaps Al Scaglione and Morris Shapiro should print a few thousand copies of these lawsuits, hand sign them, and start selling them on the cruise ships as "unique variations", embellished of course with dibs and dabs of misrepresentation, lies, and deceit - and self-appraised by Al and Morry, too. What a deal!
Class action lawsuit No. 5 
filed on behalf of Plaintiffs Donald and Joyce Hatter of Lincroft, New
Jersey, and others similarly situated, comes hot on the on the heels of
the July 22, 2009 class action lawsuit filed
on behalf of Plaintiffs Bruce and Patricia Alleman of Waukegan,
Illinois, as well as other plaintiffs who find themselves in the same
position. The 55+ page lawsuit is provided here on Fine Art Registry® in its entirety along with supporting exhibits.
Class action lawsuit No. 5 was filed by lawyers E. Powell Miller and Marc L. Newman of The Miller Law Firm, P.C., and Steven A. Schwartz of Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP. Also of counsel are Denise Davis Schwartzman and Kimberly A. Sanders of the same firm.
The latest lawsuit alleges that Park West Gallery and its affiliates under the control and direction of CEO Albert Scaglione, "voluntarily and knowingly joined and conspired" with Carnival Corporation (Carnival Cruise Line and related entities) "to feature the Park West art auctions on its cruises." All of them acting in a "scheme as alleged" which "violates the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act ('RICO'), 18 U.S.C. § 1961, et seq., and the state common and statutory laws entitling Plaintiffs and the Class to damages."
Wednesday,Aug 12 2009, 06:14:02 PMCuriosity Cuts Man's Family Cruise Short
The Journal News - New York's Lower Hudson Valley
Curiosity Cuts Man's Family Cruise Short
New York resident removed from Royal Caribbean cruise ship in Norway over Park West Gallery art auction critisim. Robert Marchant reports on the man, Mark Jacobs, who was escorted by Oslo Police off the cruise ship, seperated from his family who stayed aboard, and left in foreign country.
July 30, 2009 - LoHud.com
Read the news article online here LoHud.com.
Wednesday,Aug 12 2009, 06:09:47 PMNew York Resident Removed from Royal Caribbean....
Press Release
New York Resident Removed from Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship
for Criticizing Art Auction Practices
(Oslo, Norway — 28 July 2009) Mark Jacobs, 41, U.S. citizen and resident of Garrison returns to New York after Royal Caribbean forcibly removed him from its Jewel of the Seas cruise ship. Jacobs was left at the Oslo, Norway port on July 26, forcing him to find his way to England where he reunited with his family today for their scheduled return flight to JFK airport. His wife, Elena Pousada, and his two children, Jessica, 15, and Ben, 12, stayed on board in order not to have to pay extra to return to England.
Park West Galleries runs art auctions on over 80 cruise ships working as a contractor for a variety of cruise lines. On this particular 12-day cruise, Park West is running three art auctions on days when the ship is at sea in international waters. Jacobs attended the first auction on July 18, and became concerned that the claims of the auctioneer might not be wholly accurate. Using on-line searching, he found that there were lawsuits and class action suits in addition to many individual stories regarding people being duped by Park West. Jacobs says, "Even though I have never bid at a Park West auction, I became concerned for my fellow vacationers. When I heard there would be two more auctions, I felt I had to let people know about Park West's track record."
On July 25, Jacobs compiled information from on-line sources and drew up a one-page fact sheet (*see below). "I wanted people to know about the lawsuits and accusations of forgery, fraud and inflated valuations so that they could decide for themselves before bidding. I also wanted them to understand that typical consumer protection laws might not apply in international waters," said Jacobs. He printed about 50 copies and distributed these to registered bidders prior to the second auction.
Later that day, Jacobs was summoned to a meeting with the ship's Hotel Director Rodney Darwin and Staff Captain Aladin Hafez. He was told that he would be removed from the ship on the following day at the next stop, Oslo, Norway.
Jacobs said "I was quite surprised, especially since they could point to no rule I had broken. I guess freedom of speech is not protected on Royal Caribbean cruises."
At 3:30pm Oslo time on July 26, ship security requested that Mr. Jacobs voluntarily leave the ship. He refused. Oslo police were brought onto the ship and they informed Jacobs that, regardless of what actually happened on the ship, the police would remove him from the ship at the request of the captain. Jacobs was escorted off the ship by Oslo police.
Jacobs is a teacher at and co-founder of Longview School in Cortlandt Manor.
Wednesday,Aug 12 2009, 06:01:43 PMA Tsunami of Class Action lawsuits filed Against..
On July 22, 2009, a fourth class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court in Michigan against the self-proclaimed "largest art gallery on the planet," Park West Galleries, Inc., Park West Gallery, PWG Florida, Inc. which does business as Fine Art Sales, Inc., Vista Fine Art, LLC. dba Park West at Sea, Albert Scaglione and Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.
The whopping 68-page complaint ,
a copy of which is provided here on Fine Art Registry® in its entirety
sets forth the most scathing allegations yet against the beleaguered
art peddler and particularity slams Park West Gallery's CEO Albert
Scaglione as well as Royal Caribbean.
The law firms of Chimicles & Tikellis LLP (Haverford, Pennsylvania) and The Miller Law Firm, P.C. (Rochester, Michigan) who filed the complaint on behalf of Plaintiffs Bruce and Patricia Alleman are congratulated for having done their homework. Fine Art Registry can confirm through documented evidence that many of the allegations set forth in the complaint are true and precisely accurate on a variety of levels.
