Appellate Court Rejects Madonna's Claim to Tupac Shakur Letter

NEW YORK - June 4, 2019 - PRLog -- Madonna's effort to claim ownership of memorabilia, including a personal letter to Madonna from her imprisoned former boyfriend, rap legend Tupac Shakur, was rejected today by New York's Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department, which ruled, unanimously, that the property belongs to Madonna's former art consultant, Darlene Lutz.  Today's decision affirms the ruling of the trial court, which had dismissed all of Madonna's claims against Lutz and auctioneer, GottaHaveRockandRoll.com, which had listed the items for public sale.
         GottaHaveRockandRoll.com and Lutz, who were represented before the appellate court by Hartley T. Bernstein of Bernstein Cherney LLP and Professor Jeffrey Haas of New York Law School, successfully argued that the Madonna memorabilia belonged to Lutz by virtue of a 2004 agreement. "Celebrity does not trump the facts," Bernstein explained.  "Here, those facts were plain as day. Lutz owns the items and GottaHave RockandRoll.com is free to sell them on her behalf." Professor Haas echoed those sentiments, ""My co-counsel Hartley Bernstein and I were fully prepared in the event Madonna appealed the soundly decided lower court decision, and it was gratifying to see that justice continued to be blind to Madonna's celebrity and money and the alchemy of her high profile legal counsel."

         The Court's decision marks a stunning rebuke for the "Material Girl," who was attempting to claim ownership of the Tupac Shakur letter, correspondence with Rosie O'Donnell, and random items including a hairbrush with fragments of Madonna's hair. As Bernstein and Haas noted after the decision was rendered, "This is a landmark decision for auctioneers like GottaHaveRockandRoll.com, who are wrongfully challenged by bogus ownership claims, particularly from celebrities who have 'seller's remorse' after giving away collectible items and seeing them sold in the public marketplace through reputable auction houses."