Nazi-looted art has made headlines over the past few years, most notably in the German Cornelius Gurlitt case, as artwork has been discovered, and in some cases returned and subsequently sold at auction. Looted-art cases can present several complex legal issues including, among other things, whether an applicable statute of limitations bars the plaintiff from recovery and different theories about when that statute of limitation begins to accrue.

In the United States, there is a general rule that no one can acquire good title from a thief. This rule is codified in Section 2-403 of the Uniform Commercial Code, which states that “a purchaser of goods acquires all title which his transferor had or had power to transfer.” This rule is followed by every U.S. jurisdiction, with Louisiana being the only exception because it follows the rule of prescriptive acquisition, essentially giving good title after a certain amount of time has passed. The rule that no one can acquire good title from a thief even applies to a “good-faith purchaser” who is unaware that the artwork he is purchasing is stolen. The title concept is important in looted-art cases because it allows the original owner of the artwork to bring a replevin claim against the current possessor of the artwork in an attempt to regain rightful possession. The original owner, however, does not have carte blanch to bring a replevin claim as he or she pleases. The claim may be barred by a statute of limitations.

Generally, the purpose of a statute of limitations is threefold: (1) it promotes the expeditious filing of claims; (2) it offers a level of protection to the defendant by acknowledging that evidence may be lost or nonexistent after a certain amount of time; and (3) it offers protection for a good-faith purchaser after the applicable period of time. Typically, statutes of limitations in United States are five years, with some jurisdictions having as high as 10 years and some as low as two, depending on the claim. For most statute of limitations claims, and especially for looted-art cases, the key issue is not the actual length of the statute of limitations but, rather, when that statute of limitations begins to accrue.