Cady Noland won a court ruling this month in the case surrounding her decision to repudiate a work that was to appear at auction. Marc Jancou, whose work was repudiated, had his $6m lawsuit against the artist dismissed because of the artist’s rights under the federal Visual Artists Rights Act (Vara) which allows an artist to protect her reputation “in the event of a distortion, mutilation, or other modification,” according to The Art Newspaper.

Jancou plans to appeal, says his lawyer Tom Sheridan of Hanly Conroy. Jancou is also appealing the same court’s November 2012 ruling dismissing a case filed against Sotheby’s for breach of contract after it withdrew Cowboys Milking from auction. […]

Sheridan hopes the appeals will provide “clarification of the standards courts use” to interpret Vara. Permitting artists to determine those standards, such as how much damage constitutes material damage and how much is just wear and tear, “is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house”, he says.

The next hearing in the appeal of the decision in favour of Sotheby’s is scheduled for 6 June.