A property owner in New York City petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court last week to overturn a $6.75 million damages award granted to graffiti artists after the owner whitewashed street-art paintings at an experimental site where works were routinely painted over to clear the way for new art.
The legal battle concerns the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA), which authorizes courts to impose damages of up to $150,000 against the owner of a work of visual art of “recognized stature” if the owner destroys it. VARA pits these statutory rights against the building owner’s rights, as well as the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, which states in part, “No person shall ... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
