broken Koons balloon dog sculpture
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Oops! Woman accidentally breaks statue worth $42k

We all get a little clumsy sometimes. Most of us have never accidentally tipped over and broken a famous balloon dog sculpture at a Miami Art fair crafted by the renowned artist Jeff Koons that was worth $42,000. For one woman, however, that’s exactly what happened.

Woman accidentally breaks sculpture worth $42,000

The unthinkable happened at an art fair in Miami when a woman accidentally tipped over a porcelain balloon dog sculpture by artist Jeff Koons that had a value of $42,000, which fell and shattered into pieces.

The porcelain sculpture was electric blue in color and was part of a collection of balloon dogs by the artists. Some of the balloon dogs sell for about $11,000, but Koons’ largest balloon dog holds the record as the most expensive work of art sold by a living artist, fetching over $58 million in 2013, according to fineartmultiple.

The recollections of how the accident occurred vary according to witnesses. One account says the woman, who was said to be an art collector, tapped on the sculpture with her finger, accidentally causing it to topple over and fall off its pedestal, according to the BBC, People reported.

However, according to CNN, the woman unintentionally kicked the pedestal where the sculpture was placed, causing it to fall and break.

In the end, 100 pieces or more of shattered porcelain lay on the ground drawing a crowd around it as if it were a car accident.

The woman was said to have “wanted to disappear” after the accident occurred.

You break it, you buy it?

Did the woman who broke the sculpture have to pay 42 grand?

The idea of “you break it you buy it” is an age-old expression that has been around for nearly a century, and one readily identified with retail stores that carry fragile merchandise.

The phrase is also something most of us have had drummed into our heads since childhood.

“You break it you buy it” also goes by the nickname the “Pottery Barn rule,” in which a retail store holds customers responsible for damage done to merchandise on display. Even though Pottery Barn is associated via the nickname, this upscale chain of home furnishing stores does not actually have a “you break it, you buy it” policy. Instead, like most retailers, Pottery Barn writes off the broken merchandise as a loss.

Not legally binding

In actuality, a “you break it, you buy it” rule is not legally binding, according to Express Legal Funding. Legal doctrine holds that a retailer incurs the risk that merchant ties could be destroyed by placing it where customers can handle it and not doing anything to discourage them.

Such a rule requires a contract under mutual agreement from both parties to enforce. Further, shop owners cannot legally detain someone over a broken item.

A shop would have to pursue legal action against a customer for full retail price, and they would have the obligation of proving that the damage to the property was intentional or a result of a customer’s gross negligence.

Further, they would have to prove that such a “you break it, you buy it” rule was in effect. Most likely, a person would have to be informed by an employee the moment they set foot in an establishment.

Woman did not have to pay for the $42K sculpture, $15M offer made for the broken pieces

Fortunately for the woman who broke the $42,000 Jeff Koons sculpture, the art gallery did not present her with the bill. An art advisor said the work of art was covered by insurance.

Not only that, the art advisor said artist Stephen Gamson offered to buy the sculpture’s remains on the spot for $15 million, WFLA reported.