This legal case involves a dispute over two portraits painted by Albrecht Duerer that disappeared during the Allied Forces' occupation of Germany in 1945. The Federal Republic of Germany sued defendant Elicofon in 1969 to recover the paintings, which were discovered in his possession in Brooklyn in 1966. The Grand Duchess of Saxony-Weimar and the Kunstsammlungen zu Weimar were granted permission to intervene as plaintiffs. The original plaintiff discontinued its claim in 1975, and the Grand Duchess's complaint and cross-complaint were dismissed in 1978, leaving only the Kunstsammlungen and Elicofon. The parties are now seeking summary judgment. The Duerer portraits were part of the private art collection of the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach until 1927, when title was transferred to the Land of Thuringia under a Settlement Agreement. Thuringia was the legal successor to the territory of Weimar, which included Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

The Duerer paintings were exhibited in a museum in Weimar until 1943 when they were transferred to a nearby castle due to the anticipation of bombardment. They disappeared in the summer of 1945. The Land of Thuringia was designated to be part of the Soviet Zone of Occupation under the June 1945 Declaration, but the American Military Forces had already occupied it since April or May of 1945. The United States turned over control of Thuringia to the Soviet Armed Forces on July 1, 1945. The Duerer portraits disappeared from Schwarzburg Castle around the same time as the departure of American troops. In 1969, the Kunstsammlungen zu Weimar sued to recover the paintings, but the court denied their motion to intervene as a plaintiff because the German Democratic Republic was not recognized by the United States at the time. In 1974, the court permitted the Kunstsammlungen to file its complaint. The Kunstsammlungen alleges that the Duerer paintings were stolen in 1945 and that Elieofon acquired them from the thief or his transferee, and therefore has no right to them. Elieofon denies holding the paintings wrongfully and asserts affirmative defenses in support of his motion for summary judgment.

The case involves a dispute over two stolen portraits by Albrecht Duerer. The Kunstsammlungen zu Weimar claims that Elieofon acquired them from the thief or his transferee and has no right to them. The court finds that Elieofon's evidence is weak and contradicted by other facts. Military Government Law No. 52 rendered void any transfer of cultural property without authorization from the Military Government, and the Kunstsammlungen cannot transfer good title to the stolen Duerers. The statute of limitations is discussed, and the court upholds the tolling of the statute of limitations from 1949 to 1974. The cause of action accrued in 1966 when Elicofon refused to return the paintings upon demand, and the Kunstsammlungen's suit in 1969 was timely under New York law. The court also finds that possession by a bona fide purchaser is not a serious enough interference with the owner's rights to amount to conversion.

The case involves a dispute over ownership of two stolen portraits by Albrecht Duerer. The court rules that the Kunstsammlungen has the right to immediate possession of the paintings and the right to maintain the suit. The delay in making the demand for their return was reasonable and excusable as a matter of law. The court grants the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment and orders the defendant to deliver the paintings to the plaintiff.