NY antiques dealer sued, sues over stolen Torah

NEW YORK, Aug 8 (Reuters) A New York antiques dealer is caught in a legal battle between the French government and Christie's auction house over the sale of a 13th century Jewish manuscript stolen from a French library.

The French government sued Yosef Goldman, who bought the Torah for 358,000 dollrs six years ago, on grounds that the manuscript was stolen from France's Bibliotheque Nationale, where it was known as ''Hebrew 52.'' In turn, Goldman has now sued Christie's for selling the item to him at a New York auction in May 2000. Goldman's lawsuit asks Christie's to refund the 358,000 dollars he paid for the manuscript.

Christie's said that at the time of the auction it did not know the item was stolen.

''We believe (Goldman's) claim is baseless,'' Christie's spokesman Toby Usnik said on Monday, adding that Christie's ''will continue to work with Bibliotheque Nationale Library to seek the return of the manuscript.'' Goldman's suit, a copy of which his lawyer provided to Reuters, says the Torah is currently in the possession of an anonymous customer who bought it from him.

REUTERS DH RK026