December 30, 2013 - 8:05 AM
NEW YORK, N.Y. - A judge has dismissed a $20 million fraud lawsuit brought by heirs of sculptor Alexander Calder against his art dealer's estate.
The heirs accused art dealer Klaus Perls of swindling Calder's estate out of tens of millions of dollars and holding on to hundreds of Calder's works.
In her ruling last week, the judge said the claims were "an incoherent stew of irrelevance and innuendo." She said the evidence failed to show any fraud had been committed.
The lawsuit was filed in 2010. Perls died in 2008.
Calder was one of the most celebrated American artists of the 20th century, best known for hanging mobiles. He died in 1976.
The Calder Foundation and the plaintiffs' lawyer couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
The foundation collects and archives Calder's works.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013