Catholic University says it owns Judy Garland Wizard of Oz dress
A lobby card from the film ‘The Wizard Of Oz,’ shows a film still of a scene in which American actress Judy Garland (1922 – 1969) (as Dorothy) wipes tears from the eyes of actor Bert Lahr (1895 – 1967) (as the Cowardly Lion), while watched by Jack Haley (1898 – 1979) (as the Tin Man) (left), and Ray Bolger (1904 – 1987) (as the Scarecrow), 1939. The film was directed by Victor Fleming.
Hulton Archive | Moviepix | Getty Images
The Catholic University of America won’t surrender Dorothy’s dress — without a court fight.
The university insisted in a new statement to CNBC that it — and not the estate of a late priest and drama professor — is the “rightful owner” of a once long-lost dress worn by Judy Garland in the classic film “The Wizard of Oz.”
The Washington, D.C., university also said that a new lawsuit filed by the niece of the Rev. Gilbert Hartke, which aims to block an upcoming auction of the blue-and-white gingham dress, “has no basis in law or fact.”
Gilbert Hartke had been gifted the dress in 1973.
The school’s statement came just as a lawyer for Hartke’s 81-year-old niece asked a federal judge in New York City in a new court filing to issue a temporary injunction that would at least postpone the May 24 auction of the dress on the university’s behalf. The dress is expected to fetch as much as $1 million or more at an auction held by Bonham’s in Los Angeles.
Hartke, as a Roman Catholic priest and member of the Dominican Order, “had taken a vow of poverty,” the school noted in the statement.
“He vowed not to receive or accept any gifts as his own personal property, and at the time of his death did not have any tangible items in his estate,” Catholic University said.
“In fact, an inventory of Fr. Hartke’s estate conducted in 1987 listed nothing of value in personal possessions or any tangible property of any sort, despite other documented gifts to Fr. Hartke for the benefit of Catholic University over the years.
“Catholic University is the rightful owner of the dress, and Fr. Hartke’s estate does not have a property interest in it,” the school said.
In a court motion filed Friday that seeks a temporary injunction barring the auction, a lawyer for Hartke’s niece, Barbara Ann Hartke, said that the Wisconsin woman will suffer “irreparable injury” if the Bonham’s auction is allowed to proceed before the resolution of her suit claiming ownership of the dress by the estate of her uncle.
“Because plaintiff’s asset is in Defendant’s possession and will be sold to the highest bidding party, plaintiff will effectively lose the ability to reclaim possession of hers and, or the estate’s property once the auction takes place,” Barbara Hartke’s lawyer, Anthony Scordo, also argued in his filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
Scordo also wrote, “There is a strong public interest for the court to enter an injunction here.”
“This property is … important to the American public for reasons that are articulated in the Verified Complaint. The fact that an…
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