R.M.S. Titanic Inc. Challenges Court Control Over 100 Artifacts as It Seeks Auction Sale
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 13
R.M.S. Titanic Inc. Challenges Court Control Over 100 Artifacts as It Seeks Auction Sale
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 13
Summary
R.M.S. Titanic Inc. told a U.S. court in Norfolk that Judge Rebecca Beach Smith lacks jurisdiction over 100 Titanic artifacts the company wants to auction.
The company argued the pieces were recovered in 1987 and awarded by a French court, unlike later salvage claims it brought to the federal court in Virginia.
Those 100 items are part of roughly 5,500 artifacts the company has recovered over four decades, despite its long-standing pledge not to sell pieces individually or break up the collection.
Court papers say the sale would help pay debts and fund conservation and curation of the remaining artifacts, but Smith questioned how severe the financial strain is given the company's wealthy backers.