a. Who signed the contract?
b. Did Van Damme know that Gelber owned the painting?
c. If Van Damme knew that Gelber was the owner of the painting, then why does the
d. But Van De Weghe knows that Gasiunasen is not the owner, right?
e. What is joint and several liabilities?
Alexandre Van Damme was eager to buy a painting by the artist Gerhard Richter. Nahum Gelber was willing to sell his Richter entitled "A.B. Diffus". Van Damme hired Christophe Van De Weghe to inspect the painting at the Toronto apartment of Gelber's son. Van De Weghe was not officially told whose apartment it was, but Gelber's son was present and Van De Weghe saw a letter on the kitchen table addressed to Gelber. Van Damme's agent signed a contract with Gelber's agent, Gasiunasen Gallery, to buy the painting for $2.6 million. Gasiunasen signed the contract "Gasiunasen Gallery as Seller by Seller's Agent."
Between the time the contract was signed and Van Damme wired the purchase price to Gasiunasen, a different Richter painting has sold at auction for $5.55 million. Believing he had made a bad deal, Gelber refused to accept Van Damme's payment.
Van Damme sued Gasiunasen for breach of contract. Gasiunasen moved to dismiss on the grounds that he was an agent for a fully disclosed principal.