Ms. Hoffman, faced with settling her husband's estate, was looking to sell the Rothko, and L&M found a buyer in David Martinez Guzman, a client of Ms. Lévy's. He paid $19 million, at the time the second-highest price for a Rothko.In 2010, Mr. Martinez consigned the painting to L&M for sale privately—he became interested in obtaining a different Rothko from them—but ultimately decided to sell it at Sotheby's. When Ms. Hoffman was apprised that he was bringing the work to public auction—it made $31.4 million in a May 2010 sale—she filed a federal lawsuit against Mr. Martinez and his pany, Studio Capital, as well as L&M, for breach of contract, alleging that the sale at auction violated a confidentiality agreement. Sotheby's and Tobias Meyer were both named in the original suit, but those claims were dismissed. In December 2013, the suit went to jury trial. Barely catching her breath after Miami, Ms. Lévy headed to Dallas to testify alongside her former partner.
Part of the trial hinged on a contract that had been drawn up in April, 2007, between Mr. Van Doren, signing on behalf of Ms. Hoffman, and Mr. Mnuchin, signing on behalf of the unnamed buyer, Mr. Martinez. While the invoice that Ms. Lévy sent to Mr. Martinez at the time contained wording on confidentiality, it was not precisely the same wording as in the other contract. At the trial, both Ms. Lévy and Mr. Mnuchin testified that, while Mr. Mnuchin had discussed all aspects of the deal with her, he had not shared with her the contract itself; he referred to the situation as a glitch. According to testimony, Ms. Lévy, and therefore Mr. Martinez, didn't see that contract until the lawsuit was filed. The jury sided with Ms. Hoffman, though it awarded her a fraction of the over $10 million she sought. L&M was ordered to pay $450,000, David Martinez and Studio Capital $750,000. Mr. Martinez has since told The Baer Faxt that he will appeal.
In January, in her office, Ms. Lévy said the lawsuit "put an enormous strain on a relationship that was struggling." She added, "You know how you make your resolutions at the end of the year? I'm not interested in conflict. I'd rather walk away from a project, a deal, anything, rather than be in a conflictual situation.