Opinion ID: 781837
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The summary judgment rulings

Text: 18 Defendants moved for summary judgment on many of the claims arising under the Lanham Act. 5 In a decision of October 12, 1999, the district court dismissed all of the Lanham Act claims addressed by the motion except for the claim based on the statements in the Gallery catalogue. Boulé, 70 F.Supp.2d at 390. The Boulés have appealed the dismissal of only two of their Lanham Act claims: the claims based on the statements in the Repudiation Letter and in ARTnews. 19 The district court found that the statements in the Repudiation Letter were not actionable because they could not be considered a representation of fact within the meaning of the Lanham Act. Id. at 388-89. The claim pertaining to the statements to ARTnews was dismissed because the district court held that a response to an unsolicited inquiry from a reporter on a topic of public concern — fraud in the Russian avant-garde art market — was not a statement made in commercial advertising or promotion. Id. at 390.