Terms and Conditions

1. RETURN/REFUND POLICY. Upon receipt of an application, ATA shall indicate by e-mail acceptance or rejection of the application. ATA reserves the right to reject applications due to incomplete or insufficient information, or for other reasons that might preclude title due diligence. In the event that an application is rejected by ATA, payment will be refunded to the subscriber within 14 days, less a $100.00 processing fee. Subscriptions are otherwise non-refundable, except where prohibited by law. The method of refund will correspond with the method of payment.
2. DELIVERY POLICY. Ownership RIghts Protection Reports will be produced within approximately 25 days of ATA's receipt of a completed application and accompanying payment, and will be sent to subscribers via U.S. Postal Service.
3. CUSTOMER SERVICE. Customer service is available during the hours 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern) Monday through Friday. Call 301-941-1929. E-mail inquiries will be responded to within 48 hours. Contact Lloyd P. Goldenberg, Director of Research at goldenbergl@arttitleadvisors.com.
4. MAXIMUM LIABILITY. The liability of Art Title Advisors, LLC and its principals, information providers or any third party contacted by Art Title Advisors, LLC in creating and producing the Ownership Rights Protection^sm Report shall be limited to the amounts of money actually paid by the Subscriber to Art Title Advisors, LLC for the Report. Subscriber understands and agrees that there is a substantial risk in the purchase and sale of fine art and that Art Title Advisors, LLC is not responsible for loss in value of the artwork or for loss of title to the artwork resulting from any title research conducted by Art Title Advisors, LLC ("ATA") on behalf of the Subscriber.
5. Subscriber warrants that he/she has provided ATA with all the information he/she has concerning the provenance of the artwork; that he/she has no knowledge of any hostile claims to Subscriber’s title to the artwork, regardless of whether such claim or claims are deemed to have merit; and that he/she has no knowledge of any other defect or potential defects in title, including but not limited to forced or coerced sales of the artwork, fraud, misrepresentations or other suspicious circumstances not previously disclosed in this subscription document to ATA.
6. The Report to be provided by ATA to Subscriber is for the sole use and benefit of Subscriber. It is neither contemplated nor agreed by the parties that any third party shall be entitled to rely upon the contents of the Report.
7. Should any dispute arise between Subscriber and ATA over the terms and conditions of this subscription agreement the dispute shall be construed and governed by the laws of the state of Maryland. ATA and the Subscriber agree that if a dispute cannot be informally resolved, in lieu of submitting the matter to formal judicial resolution, the parties shall submit the dispute to be resolved before a single arbitrator to be mutually agreed upon and with such arbitration to take place in Montgomery County, State of Maryland pursuant to the rules of arbitration of the American Arbitration Association. The parties agree that the result of any such arbitration shall be final and binding on each party.
8. The Ownership Rights Protection^sm Report is NOT title insurance. Art Title Advisors, LLC is not in a position to guarantee that a particular court within the United States will apply extant judicial decisions or law as to the "balancing of equities" equitable judicial precedent in determining a claim for replevin or repatriation of an allegedly "stolen" artwork.
9. Although the Report helps reduce the risk that the artwork has been stolen or sold under duress, the Report cannot protect against a claim to recover it if it was stolen within the time prescribed by the applicable statute of limitations for bringing such a claim. Applicable statutes of limitation in most states within the United States are between two (2) and six (6) years. Absent exceptional circumstances, claims to recover stolen chattels that are brought within the time that the applicable statutory period prescribes are considered timely as a matter of law.
10. The Report does not monitor or police any transaction for the purchase, sale or donation of the artwork. The Report disavows any knowledge concerning the merits or fairness of any such transaction including but not limited to the purchase price paid as well as any brokerage commission paid to any party, dealer or agent or any representation of any party to such transaction.
11. The Subscriber is responsible for the potential consequences of inherently suspicious circumstances surrounding past or prospective acquisitions of the artwork. Subscriber must understand that his/her/its ownership expectations in the artwork cannot be regarded as reasonable, and legal rights may not be protected under applicable law, if the circumstances under which the Subscriber acquired the artwork—or that surround a contemplated acquisition—were or are so inherently suspicious so as to place a person of reasonable intelligence and prudence on notice that the work likely had been stolen or sold under duress. Suspicious circumstances surrounding the acquisition of the artwork can be used to repudiate the “good faith” of the current possessor of the work, and may outweigh the countervailing equities that the Ownership Rights Protection^sm Report may accumulate on behalf of the Subscriber under the “balancing of Equities” judicial standard. (See Services page on this web site)
12. The Report does not make any investigation into the legality of the import into the United States or export from another country of the artwork nor does the Report investigate any liens or encumbrances that might be placed upon the artwork or any contractual rights that might exist with respect to the current ownership interest(s) in the work.
13. Information supplied by third parties or located in third party reference texts will not be corroborated by Art Title Advisors, LLC. The Report is intended as a compilation of the information gathered through a balanced and legally comprehensive due diligence investigation of databases maintained by third parties as well as information supplied by third party experts in various fields who are recognized as art world authorities. Art Title Advisors, LLC for the price of the Report will not undertake to investigate or verify such information.
14. Although the art world authorities contacted by Art Title Advisors, LLC as part of the due diligence inquiries comprising the Ownership Rights Protection^sm Report may comment upon the authenticity of the artwork if they have concerns, the issue of authenticity of the work is NOT part of the service offered by Art Title Advisors, LLC ^sm and receipt by the Subscriber of a Report without reservations as to ownership rights should NOT be construed as a report or opinion on the authenticity of the work.
15. Art Title Advisors, LLC in issuing a Report is making no representation or warranty whatsoever as to the artwork including, without limitations, any warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
16. SUBSCRIBER ACCEPTS AND USES THE REPORT TO BE PROVIDED BY ART TITLE ADVISORS, LLC AT HIS/HER/ITS SOLE RISK WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OTHER THAN THOSE WARRANTIES THAT ARE INCAPABLE OF EXCLUSION UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF MARYLAND.