Blink

Dan Hartsfield, lead attorney for Talley Dunn in her million-dollar lawsuit against former employer Gerald Peters, says Peters has answered by filing a general denial of all claims, which he expected. What he didn’t expect was Peters’ moving the case to federal court. “You could say they made a federal case out of it,” Hartsfield quips. He doesn’t think the case will go to court before the end of the year, but not because of the transfer. “Nothing at all is set,” he says, “but the change to federal court doesn’t delay it at all. It just changes the form.” The case can be heard at the federal level because The Peters Corporation, with its headquarters in New Mexico, has business interests that cross state lines. Hartsfield says Peters’ simple answer denying all claims was noteworthy because there was no attempt on Peters’ part to stop Dunn from opening her new Dunn-Brown Contemporary gallery, in seemingly flagrant disregard for the terms of the three-year no-compete clause in her employment agreement with Peters. Hartsfield says Peters’ answer did not contain any request for an injunction against Dunn’s working as an art dealer in Dallas. “I think that means they think about it the same way I think about it,” he says. “It’s unenforceable.” Dunn, with partner Lisa Hirschler Brown, is going ahead with her professional life as if she expects no repercussions from Peters or the courts. Dunn-Brown Contemporary will open October 29 at 5020 Tracy Drive.