Madonna has lost a nearly year-long bid to stop an auction of intimate items, including a breakup letter from rap legend Tupac Shakur.
A judge ruled that the singer had directed her legal action against the wrong target in going after Darlene Lutz, a New York art dealer who helped Madonna build a collection before falling out with her.
Lutz had been the main source for 22 items, including love letters, cassettes and a hairbrush, that were up for sale by auction house Gotta Have Rock and Roll until a judge issued an injunction in July.
New York Judge Gerald Lebovits, in a ruling based on narrow legal grounds rather than on Madonna's claims of violations of privacy, agreed with Lutz, who said that her disputes with Madonna were settled by a 2004 legal agreement between the former friends.
Lebovits, in a decision dated last week but made public on Monday, also questioned why Madonna was pursuing Lutz and not the singer's assistants, who Madonna said had handed items to the art dealer.
"If plaintiff's allegations are accepted as true - that Lutz received the letters through inadvertent actions of the plaintiff's assistants," Lebovits wrote, then her case against Lutz is "time-barred and improper."
The auction house said it would press ahead in July with the sale of Madonna merchandise including the offending letter from Tupac.
In a statement, Gotta Have Rock and Roll said it had been confident about the case and had done "substantial due diligence" before first announcing the auction.
Judd Grossman, a lawyer for Lutz, called the court decision "a total win."
"Ms Lutz is now free to do with her property as she pleases without any continued interference by Madonna," Grossman said.
A lawyer for Madonna did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Private letter from Tupac
The items up for auction - part of a collection of some 100 pieces - included a 1995 letter from Tupac, who would be shot dead a year later. Madonna has only recently spoken publicly about their then-secret relationship.
In the letter breaking up with Madonna, Tupac said his image would suffer by dating a white woman and voiced pain at an interview in which the singer said, "I'm off to rehabilitate all the rappers and basketball players."
Madonna, in winning a temporary block of the auction in July, told the court that her celebrity status "does not obviate my right to maintain my privacy, including with regard to highly personal items."
Lutz's lawyers accused Madonna of a "personal vendetta" and mocked her appeals for privacy, noting that the auction included a pair of underwear she had mailed to a lover.
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Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
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The specs
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Engine 8.0-litre quad-turbo, W16
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Torque 1600Nm @ 2,000rpm 0-100kph: 2.6 seconds 0-200kph: 6.1 seconds
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last 16, first leg
Ajax v Real Madrid, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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