Court Documents on the Berkshire Museum Deaccessioning

Members of the Berkshire Museum Appeal Ruling on Planned Sale of Critical Pieces of its Collection. By Nicholas O’Donnell

This filing addresses the Berkshire Museum’s challenge that the single appeals court justice cannot grant a delay in the injunction. Attorney General’s Office argues that appellate judge has the right to make the decision.

Please note, relief sought on page 49
V. RELIEF SOUGHT – The Museum Members respectfully request that this Court:
1. Reverse the Berkshire Superior Court’s decision dismissing their action;
2. Reverse the Berkshire Superior Court’s denial of the Museum Members’ motion for a preliminary injunction, and enjoin the Museum from any sale or other conveyance of its artwork;
3. Remand this case to the BLS where it was filed.

The Office of the Attorney General (AGO) and the Berkshire Museum have filed a petition with the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts seeking approval of the following agreement to end litigation between the AGO and the Museum.

This matter is a joint petition by the Trustees of Berkshire Museum and the Attorney General of the Commonwealth to have certain restrictions removed from works of art owned by the Berkshire Museum.

The James Hatt party (through their attorney, Nicholas O’Donnell) filed a request to submit an amicus brief by February 27, with the assent of the other parties (the Museum and AGO).

Nicholas O’Donnell, lawyer for the Hatt party, has filed a brilliant brief to the MA Supreme Judicial Court. It’s a scathing, well-documented indictment of the Museum’s actions and critical of the proposed agreement. It makes a final plea for the Supreme Court: “The AGO specifically promised that, notwithstanding the Museum’s obligation to inform the AGO ahead of time of which other artworks it will sell, it will do nothing about it. Only this Court can stop it now.”

This memorandum is submitted to the Court by concerned citizens of Berkshire County as Amici Curiae to assist the Court in its consideration of the complaint filed by the Trustees of the Berkshire Museum (the “Museum”) and the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (the “Attorney General”).

Defendant Attorney General Maura Healey (“AGO”) submits this response to the two briefs of amici curiae (the “amici”), all of whom are residents of Berkshire County and supporters of or donors to the Plaintiff Trustees of the Berkshire Museum.

The Berkshire Museum is fortunate to serve a diverse community. Many members of that community strongly support the Museum’s plans for its future; some do not. The Museum recognizes that its master planning process and development of a New Vision, necessary for the Museum to survive and fulfill its mission, have sparked a robust public discussion.

After consultation with counsel, I submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Judicial Court of Suffolk County in the proceedings related to the Berkshire Museum case held this afternoon. I thought I would share the contents as this is now part of the court record.