Hueston said his client is seeking to protect the integrity of the fine-wine market. Hueston alleged that Greenberg wanted the suspect bottles to be returned to him in order to put them back on the market and to “send the bottles back to the next victim.”
‘Six Figures’
Arthur Shartsis, a lawyer for Greenberg, told the judge that when his client first learned that Koch suspected the wines he purchased were fakes, he repeatedly offered to reimburse the collector for what he called the “very, very low six figures.”
Shartsis said Koch has rejected Greenberg’s offer to have a public tasting of the fake wines to raise money for charity.
“This case is an embarrassment to all of us,” Shartsis said, adding that the lawsuit has dragged on for more than five years.
“We’ve spent cumulatively about $14 million on a claim that is probably between $100,000 to $200,000,” Shartsis said. “The legal system shouldn’t be doing this -- at all. Particularly when one of the parties years ago, could’ve avoided the costs for both by accepting a full tender.”
Oetken said he will rule later on whether to have a second phase of the trial to determine whether one side should pay the other’s legal fees and other costs.
At the end of yesterday’s proceedings, Oetken directed the two sides to try to negotiate a resolution and he separately summoned them into his robing room for a round of conferences.
Greenberg declined to comment on the status of the discussions when he emerged from one session.
“I had Zachys inspect the bottles and I offered a refund,” he said. “I don’t know what else I could do. I did the right thing.”