Appeals Court Revives Case For Art Seized In WWII

PASADENA (AP) — A federal appeals court has revived a New York woman's lawsuit against a Pasadena museum to return two 500-year-old paintings seized by Nazis during World War II.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday to reverse a lower court's decision to dismiss the case.

Marei von Saher sued the Norton Simon Museum for the paintings in 2007, claiming they were seized from her father-in-law during the Holocaust. The paintings by German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder feature Adam and Eve, and might have been the inspiration for the title sequence of the TV series "Desperate Housewives."

A trial court in Los Angeles dismissed the case, ruling that a California law allowing von Saher to sue would interfere with the federal government's authority over foreign policy.

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