[MSN] A recent decision in a U.S. district court is giving a legal boost to families hunting for heirlooms looted by Nazis.

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U.S. decision boosts attempts to recover loot stolen in Nazi era

50 minutes ago

MONTREAL - A recent decision in a U.S. district court is giving a legal
boost to families hunting for heirlooms looted by Nazis.

A U.S. judge ruled last week that the forced sale by German Nazis of a
painting owned by Dr. Max Stern in 1937 amounts to theft of the painting.

Clarence Epstein, director of the Max Stern Art Restitution Project at
Concordia University, says the landmark ruling could help all families
trying to recover lost property.

U.S. resident Maria-Luise Bissonnette inherited the painting from her
stepfather, a Nazi Party member, who bought the painting at a forced sale
more than 70 years ago in Cologne, Germany.

The U.S. judge ruled the painting was unlawfully taken from Stern, a
longtime Montreal art dealer, and that his estate is the rightful owner.

Stern passed away in 1987 and left his estate to McGill and Concordia
universities in Montreal and Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

The schools have continued to search for 400 missing paintings.

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