In 2011, Philippe Maestracci filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeking title to the 1918 Modigliani painting Seated Man with a Cane, valued at more than $25 million.[8] Maestracci claimed that the painting had been looted from his grandfather, Oscar Stettiner, during World War II.[8] In 2012, after Defendants moved to dismiss, Maestracci’s counsel withdrew that complaint.[8] In 2015, the Limited Ancillary Administrator for the Estate of Oscar Stettiner filed suit in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, seeking the same relief sought in federal court.[8] The amended complaint in that action is currently the subject of a motion to dismiss with Defendants’ counsel arguing, among other things, that Defendants purchased the painting in good faith at a public Christie’s auction in London, that Oscar Stettiner did not actually own the subject painting, and that the case is being bankrolled by business people who specialize in funding restitution claims in exchange for obtaining a percentage of any recovery or settlement.[8] Plaintiff's counsel contends that this painting had been sold out of the possessions of Jewish art dealer Oscar Stettiner by an administrator appointed under the Nazi occupation of Paris.[9] In a letter filed in court on May 25, 2016, Eve Livengood claimed the painting was purchased by her husband's grandfather in 1944 and was in the possession of the family for over 50 years, until the Christie's Auction. Defendants' counsel has vigorously questioned the accuracy and authenticity of Ms. Livengood's letter.