Conditions of Sale
CONDITIONS OF SALE
Placing a bid at auction constitutes buyer's acceptance of and agreement to these Conditions of Sale.
1. WAIVER OF WARRANTY: All lots are sold "AS IS" and "WHERE IS". No statement regarding condition, kind, value, or quality of a lot, whether made orally at the auction or at any other time, or in writing in this catalogue or elsewhere, shall be construed to be an express or implied warranty, representation, or assumption of liability. Any such warranty is WAIVED. Regarding works of art, Neal Auction Company does not make any express or implied warranty as to authorship. No statement in the catalogue or elsewhere, orally or in writing, shall be construed as an express or implied warranty, representation or limitation of liability as to authorship. Any such warranty is WAIVED.
Buyer agrees and acknowledges that: (a) buyer is not relying on Neal Auction Company's skill or judgment in selecting to purchase any lot; (b) no oral or written statements in the catalogue of Neal Auction Company or elsewhere regarding condition, attribution, kind, quality, value or authorship are the cause of or reason behind buyer's purchase of any lot; (c) buyer would have incurred the purchase of any lot regardless of any oral or written statements about condition, attribution, kind, quality, value, or authorship made in the catalogue or elsewhere; (d) Neal Auction Company did not know and could not have known that condition, attribution, kind, quality, expressed value, or authorship is the cause or reason why buyer decides to purchase any lot; (e) buyer's purchase of any lot is not intended to gratify a nonpecuniary interest; and (f) Neal Auction Company did not know, nor should it have known, that any oral or written statement about a lot in the catalogue or elsewhere would cause a nonpecuniary loss to buyer.
Notwithstanding the foregoing WAIVER OF WARRANTY, agreements and acknowledgements, Neal Auction Company may in its sole discretion, but shall not be obligated to, consider any reasonable request for rescission of a sale on the basis of authenticity of authorship of a work of art under the following terms and conditions only, all of which must be met:
A. Neal Auction Company shall not grant rescission regarding lots identified by Neal Auction Company by the terms "attributed to," "school of," "manner of," "after," or "signature of."
B. Neal Auction Company shall not grant rescission regarding any lot unless the buyer notifies Neal Auction Company in writing within 25 calendar days from the date of the auction, and returns the lot to Neal Auction Company in the same condition that the lot was in at the time of sale.
C. Neal Auction Company shall not grant rescission regarding any lot unless the buyer presents to Neal Auction Company a written document signed by a recognized art expert acceptable to Neal Auction Company that the lot in question is a forgery.
D. Neal Auction Company shall not grant rescission to any person (including but not limited to the original buyer's heirs, legatees, assigns, transferees, or subsequent purchasers) other than the original buyer, and any rights of the original buyer are not transferrable or assignable.
E. Neal Auction Company shall not grant rescission when: (i) there is a conflict of expert opinion as to the authorship; (ii) expert opinion supported authorship at the time of sale, although expert opinion may have changed after the date of sale; and (iii) scientific processes that were unavailable, expensive or impractical at the time of sale have revealed since the time of sale that the author or period Neal Auction Company believed to be accurate at the time of sale was inaccurate.
F. In any dispute between Neal Auction Company and buyer regarding authorship of a work of art, it is stipulated that rescission of the sale and refund of the price paid shall be the buyer's sole recourse or remedy, if any is available, and Neal Auction Company shall not be responsible or obligated for any damages (including compensatory, general, incidental, exemplary or special damages), non-pecuniary losses, costs, expenses, injury, mental anguish, lost profits, attorney's fees, or any other monetary or injunctive relief.
2. The auctioneer shall have absolute discretion in determining the successful bidder. At the fall of the auctioneer's hammer, title to the offered lot will pass to the bidder acknowledged by the auctioneer. The bidder thereupon assumes full risk and responsibility and will pay full purchase price for the said lot.
3. The auctioneer may decide that any original bid is not commensurate with the value of the article offered, or that any advance thereafter is not of sufficient amount, he may reject the same.
4. The auctioneer reserves the right to withdraw any item at any time before the sale of the item.
5. No merchandise will be released before the end of the auction.
6. If the buyer fails to comply with any of the Conditions of Sale, Neal Auction Company reserves the right to hold such defaulting buyer liable for the purchase price; to cancel the sale, retaining as liquidated damages any payment made by the buyer; resell the property without reserve at public auction or privately on seven days' notice to the buyer or, take such other actions available by law as deemed necessary or appropriate. If Neal Auction Company resells the property, the original defaulting buyer shall be liable for the payment of any deficiency in the purchase price and all costs and expenses, including warehousing, the expenses of both sales, reasonable attorneys' fees, commissions, incidental damages and all other charges due hereunder.
7. Virtually all property offered has been subject to use over a considerable period of time. No mention of cracks, scratches, chips or any damages will be included in the catalogue description. Condition reports are available upon request.
ABSENTEE/TELEPHONE BIDS
1. All absentee bids and/or telephone bids must be in our gallery by 5 P.M. CST the Thursday
prior to the auction.
2. All arrangements for bidding should be made as early as possible. Telephone bidding will be taken at the discretion of the Neal Auction Company. Each item must have a minimum low estimate of $500.
3. We assume no responsibility for failure to execute bids for any reason whatsoever.
4. We reserve the right to require that advance bids be accompanied by a deposit.
PAYMENT
1. The successful bidder agrees to pay a buyer's premium in the amount of 25% of the hammer price on each lot up to and including $200,000, plus 15% of the hammer price greater than $200,000. For payments made by cash, check or wire transfer within 15 days of the auction, the buyer's premium shall be discounted 3% of this 25%.
2. Online bidding is available at a buyer's premium in the amount of 28% of the hammer price. A cash discount is not available for purchases made online. Neal Auction is not liable for any failure of third party sites. In the event of a dispute, the Neal Auction sale record is conclusive.
3. Unless exempt by law, the buyer will be required to pay Louisiana and local taxes, and, if applicable, any federal luxury or other tax, on the total purchase price.
4. Documentation of tax exemption must be provided upon registration. Billing name and address of a bidder must agree with that on the sales tax exemption certificate.
5. Payment in full must be made by the successful bidder in US Dollars within 15 days of the auction date. Interest charges will apply to invoices paid after this period expires. We reserve the right to require payment in full of the sales price at the moment of the successful bid.
6. VISA, MasterCard, Discover and American Express are accepted for invoices up to $25,000 per customer.
TERMS
Neal Auction has discretion to admit a bidder to the auction premises or refuse participation in the auction.
Neal Auction Company requires that the merchandise be held on premises until the check clears or money can be wired into the Neal Auction Company account.
Your signature on this form gives Neal Auction permission to charge your credit card the full amount of your invoice if payment is not received within 15 days of the auction.
SHIPPING
We will assist buyers in making shipping arrangements by furnishing information on packers and shippers. Handling of purchased items by us is at the risk of the buyer. Final shipping arrangements and agreements are strictly between the buyer and the shipper.
STORAGE
Unless other arrangements are made and confirmed in writing, all items must be removed within 15 days of the auction. On the first business day following that time period, items remaining in the gallery will be turned over to a storage facility. The buyer will be responsible for handling and storage costs. Handling costs will be a minimum of $50. Storage rates will carry a minimum charge of $50 per month per item. All items handled or stored will be at the buyer's risk. Storage charges are accrued monthly and must be paid in full before items are released. We are not liable for any damage to items after the sale.
RIGHTS
Neal Auction retains the rights to all photographs and all intellectual property in this catalogue. They may not be used without prior written permission.
IMPORT/EXPORT
Items made of or incorporating endangered or protected wildlife materials, irrespective of age or percentage of material included therein, may require a license or certificate authorizing export from the US as well as relevant authorizations from the country of import. It is the responsibility of the prospective purchaser to determine and be satisfied that the requirements of any applicable laws or regulations applying to the transportation, whether international or interstate, can be met before bidding. The inability of a buyer to transport property containing endangered or protected wildlife material is not a basis for cancellation or rescission of the sale.
Although licenses can be obtained to export some types of endangered species, other types may not be exported at all, and other types may not be resold in certain states in the United States. Neal Auction Company cannot assist the purchaser in attempting to obtain the appropriate licenses and/or certificates, and purchasers can be given no assurance that an export license or certificate can be obtained. Please check with a qualified shipping company to if you are uncertain as to whether a lot is subject to these export/import license and certificate requirements, or any other restrictions on its interstate transportation or exportation from the United States.
MANDATORY AND EXCLUSIVE FORUM SELECTION; AND CHOICE OF LAW
Any action of any nature brought by either party against the other in any court, whether federal or state, shall be brought exclusively in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. Each party agrees to submit to jurisdiction and venue in federal or state court in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, waives all questions of such jurisdiction or venue, and waives any rights to jurisdiction or venue in any other forum. Any dispute between the parties shall be governed by the law of the State of Louisiana, notwithstanding any conflicts of law principles.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Please note that all of the terms and descriptions used in this catalogue are intended as qualified opinions only and are subject to the Conditions of Sale and Limited Warranty set forth elsewhere. Neal Auction Company assumes no express or implied warranty with respect to these terms and descriptions, and they shall not be construed to be a warranty, representation or assumption of liability. Subject to the foregoing, with respect to authorship of works of art, the following terms
shall have the following meanings:
George Inness - In our qualified opinion, we believe the work is by the artist named.
Attributed to George Inness - In our qualified opinion, we believe the work may be ascribed to the artist named on the basis of style and period, but our opinion is less certain than in the previous category.
Signed "George Inness" - In our qualified opinion, the signature, monogram or other indication of authorship is a signature of the artist.
School of George Inness - In our qualified opinion, the work is of the period of the artist named,
by a student or a follower of the artist, but not by the artist.
Manner of George Inness - In our qualified opinion, although the work is in the style of the artist named, it is actually of a later period.
After George Inness - In our qualified opinion, the work is a copy of a known work of the artist named.
Bears signature "George Inness" - In our qualified opinion, although the work bears the signature
or monogram of the artist, the work most likely is not that of the artist.
