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Filed in New York in April of this year, the complaint states that the committee breached its contract by refusing to offer an opinion on the authenticity of Basquiat's Fuego Flores (1983), purchased by De Geer in 1987.

According to the court papers, the painting's current value is estimated at less than $5,000, as opposed to the $3 million that it could bring at auction were it authenticated by the committee. No auction house will sell the work as a Basquiat without authentication.

In addition to the members of the committee, among them gallerist Jeffrey Deitch, the dealer who sold De Geer the painting has also been named as a defendant.

In the event that the painting is not authenticated, De Geer will seek compensatory and punitive damages of at least $10 million.