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paid and, at times, wasn't even authentic. But when they complained, the return policy
evaporated and Park West refused to refund the purchase.
Those stories caught the eye of an art expert who registers and tracks artwork. Theresa
Franks, the owner of Fine Art Registry website, said she published an article about Park
West in 2007 and afterward her website received over four hundred complaints from oth-
er unhappy clients of Park West. Those stories, in turn, got the attention of mainstream
media including CBS and the
New York Times
. In some instances, the gallery refunded
money to people mentioned in those articles.
But Park West sued Ms. Franks and her company for defamation, and after a six-week
trial in 2010 the gallery lost the case in federal court. On appeal, a retrial is pending. Ms.
Franks also won her appeal to the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva to
stop Park West from creating a copycat website with an almost identical name.
Eventually, some of the customers banded together and sued Park West in federal court
in eastern Michigan for fraud, breach of contract, misrepresenting the value of artwork
and unfair trade practices. Park West argued that the case should be dismissed because art
sales on a cruise ship fell under admiralty law or the law of the sea. The court disagreed
and accepted the case.
“We got standing. The court said that Michigan common law applies, not admiralty
law,” said Donald L. Payton, their attorney. He said all but two of the plaintiffs reached
cash settlements with Park West Gallery before trial. Payton, though, is forbidden to say
how much money they were paid.
Significantly, the plaintiffs also sued Royal Caribbean for its close relationship with
Park West. Adam Goldstein told me in our interview that he could not comment because
of the ongoing litigation. However, two months later, Goldstein wrote in his company blog
that Royal Caribbean decided not to renew its contract with Park West.
Here is where the drive to increase onboard revenue collides with the theme of having
the time of your life aboard a cruise. Most art buyers haven't sued Park West Gallery, as the
owner points out. Passengers on vacation feel free to try things they rarely do at home—like
attend an art auction. They trust the cruise line, they feel they can let their hair down and
splurge.
Therein lies the easy mark. If this is a vacation of a lifetime, this is a special occasion
that deserves a little extra spending, like a graduation, birthday or wedding. In that mood
passengers pay as much for photographs as they would spend for a digital camera. They go
to spas as expensive as a fancy resort. It's one great memorable experience.
This is what they spend beyond the price of their ticket: on average, passengers younger
than 45 years old spend $357 on a Caribbean cruise of three to seven days; passengers
between 45 and 65 spend nearly as much at $345, while those over 65 watch their budgets
and spend only $242 on average. And cruise lines and concessionaires have come up with
ever-more-profitable ways to make money, like those Park West art auctions with their fine-
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