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Park West Gallery

Date Filed: September 2, 2008

Court: U.S. District Court

Location: Western District of Washington

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro filed a lawsuit against Park West Gallery, HSBC Finance Corp. and Holland America, claiming the companies engaged in a scheme to knowingly defraud passengers aboard cruises by selling forged artwork to unsuspecting purchasers.

The lawsuit claims Park West sold pieces of art ostensibly created by artists Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso and Rembrandt, when the defendants knew - or should have known - that some of the pieces were forgeries.

Cruise ship auctions account for a significant portion of the cruise ship's revenue through revenue-sharing agreements with the art auction companies. Reports peg the revenue in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

The lawsuit claims co-defendants HSBC and Holland America participated in, and benefited from, Park West's art dealings onboard. Holland America shares revenue with Park West for all pieces sold at onboard auctions and the lawsuit claims the cruise line should have known the pieces sold were not authentic. A division of HSBC offered purchasers private-brand credit cards with very high credit limits so passengers could purchase artwork at the onboard auctions.

The lawsuit seeks to represent anyone in the United States who purchased unauthentic artwork from Park West Gallery, those who purchased artwork with financing from HSBC, and those who purchased unauthentic artwork aboard a Holland America ship.

If you've been affected by these practices please contact HBSS by clicking here or e-mailing info@hbsslaw.com.

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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS:

October 3, 2008 - Today Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro filed an amended complaint in the case against Park West. The complaint reflects changes to the named defendants - removing GE Capital and adding HSBC Finance Corp.

The amended complaint claims HSBC provided prospective purcahsers with credit lines of up to $50,000 so they could purchase artwork from Park West aboard cruise ships.