Nicholas M.O'Donnell

Civil & international litigator, Sullivan & Worcester LLP partner, art lawyer. Once, I argued at SCOTUS but it was on the phone

[Nicholas M.O'Donnell @NicholasMOD]

1 The Kristof article is an abomination 2 This would be catastrophically stupid. This will be dismissed immediately, let alone the awful idea of a nation state as defamation plaintiff. There will be no discovery & it will make Kristof an undeserved martyr. More speech not less

[Oren Kessler @OrenKessler]

Israel to sue New York Times over article alleging widespread rape of prisoners

https://t.co/uVt7wNsZ5t

[Nicholas M.O'Donnell @NicholasMOD]

wow!

[Robin Pogrebin @rpogrebin]

BREAKING: The Met Will Expand by Merging With the Nearby Neue Galerie https://t.co/CPSlRmQTLz via @NYTimes

[David Bernstein @ProfDBernstein]

Really excellent, quotable piece on antisemitism in The Spectator.
"It is customary in debates around contemporary anti-Semitism to maintain there is nothing inherently anti-Semitic about criticising Israel. That is true. But what is striking is just how much criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic." 1/

[Nicholas M.O'Donnell @NicholasMOD]

Section 301 tariffs on Chinese art and tariffs on Russian art are not affected by this, either, to be clear. /end

[Nicholas M.O'Donnell @NicholasMOD]

As I predicted in the Art Law Report in February and on Tuesday's Responsible Art Market Initiative webinar, the Administration's Section 122 tariffs have been set aside by the Court of International Trade. Balance of payments & balance of trade are completely different things🧵

[Zoe Tillman @ZoeTillman]

NEW: Trump is 0-2 on tariffs after the US trade court today declared his new 10% global tariffs under Section 122 unlawful. BUT the court issued a narrower injunction for the two companies that sued + Washington state, so TBD what this immediately means for other importers https://t.co/fZ0178J1s8

Ruling: https://t.co/ngr5LX2KfP

[Nicholas M.O'Donnell @NicholasMOD]

The good news is that we should soon be back to the broad Chapter 97 exemptions on cultural property and not the narrower "informational materials" exception that does not include antiques or furniture, for example.

[Nicholas M.O'Donnell @NicholasMOD]

This implies that trains ever ran on the E line, for which there is actually no evidence. I'm still waiting for the expected train from basketball camp at Northeastern in 1987.

[MBTA @MBTA]

Beginning June 6, Symphony station on the Green Line E Branch will close for nearly 3 years as we complete safety, accessibility upgrades. Trains will bypass Symphony so we can modernize it with 4 new elevators, raised platforms, & improved wayfinding.

ℹ️https://t.co/vRJCvqlsUc

[Nicholas M.O'Donnell @NicholasMOD]

Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025 Signed Into Law, Rebukes Supreme Court Ruling on Sovereign Immunity for Nazi-era Art Claims https://t.co/0eKbc2ddjn

[NASA Earth @NASAEarth]

That's us! 🌍

The Artemis II crew captured beautiful, high-resolution images of our home planet during their journey to the Moon. As @Astro_Christina put it: "You guys look great."

[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston @mfaboston]

This #StPatricksDay, take a closer look at a rare object from early medieval Ireland ☘️

Known as the Emly Shrine—named for its 19th-century owner, Lord Emly of County Limerick—this example is one of only nine complete Irish house reliquaries that survive today.

[Nicholas M.O'Donnell @NicholasMOD]

Arguing Philipp in 2020 in the nation’s highest court is the pride of my entire career, and I am grateful to Congress for asserting its proper role to correct the court’s grievous mistake. I look forward to hearing that the President has signed this important law.
More soon /end

[Nicholas M.O'Donnell @NicholasMOD]

House votes unanimously today to pass the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act of 2025. I was moved to hear Rep. Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA) during floor debate specifically call out by name SCOTUS's indefensible “domestic takings” error in F.R.G. v. Philipp🧵

[Michelle Young @michelleyoungNY]

I have a new piece out at The Forward, closing the loop on a story I started writing about 4 years ago. It's taken me to New Mexico, Colorado & is tied directly to my book The Art Spy. Plus Congress will debate the HEAR Act on Nazi looted art today https://t.co/rc7pZKG3nm

[Reuters Legal @ReutersLegal]

US Supreme Court declines to hear dispute over copyrights for AI-generated material https://t.co/VBaHenkGFN

[The Wall Street Journal @WSJ]

The Muscarelle Museum of Art takes an engaging, expansive approach to highlighting the often-overlooked female practitioners of the assertive midcentury style. https://t.co/3FFiKYZ2yg

[Nicholas M.O'Donnell @NicholasMOD]

-As promulgated the Section 122 tariffs will still exempt “artworks” as the IEEPA tariffs did (but not furnishings, antiquities, or other cultural property ordinarily exempt), they can go no higher than 15%, and they will end in 150 days.

[Nicholas M.O'Donnell @NicholasMOD]

My longer thoughts on the recent tariff decision and the art market in the latest Art Law Report. I hope that you will find it useful. Bonus reference to the Freedom Trail if you read the whole piece. 🧵https://t.co/7vN9WBXRnE

[Nicholas M.O'Donnell @NicholasMOD]

The takeaways:

-The court got it right on the IEEPA tariffs;
-The Administration assured the lower courts last year that it would issue refunds, and now it must;
-The new Section 122 tariffs do not withstand legal scrutiny any more than the IEEPA theory did; and

[Zoe Tillman @ZoeTillman]

NEW: A federal appeals court swiftly rejected the Trump administration’s request to delay next steps in the fight over tariff refunds for importers after the US Supreme Court struck down the president’s signature economic policy
https://t.co/inC0dQh4dl