Manuscript case stayed
Maureen Hayden reports in today’s Courier & Press, “Lawsuit delay snarls claim to manuscript.”
Vanderburgh County court officials hoping to get their chance at cracking a local version of the “da Vinci code” may be out of luck: A lawsuit over a manuscript purported to contain the scribblings of 15th century genius Leonardo da Vinci is on hold and may land in another court.
The lawsuit, filed last year in Vanderburgh Circuit Court, is expected to be automatically “stayed” because the defendant in the case – a world famous art dealer who claims to own a piece of the Dead Sea Scrolls – has filed for bankruptcy. The defendant, Bruce P. Ferrini of Akron, Ohio, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late last week in Ohio. A bankruptcy filing stalls almost all litigation against a debtor until the bankruptcy matter is resolved. Ferrini was sued by an Evansville couple last year, who contend he breached a contract to try to authenticate and sell the manuscript.
The dispute involves Evansville residents, two of whom are local attorneys.
