Court Says S&L; Can Seize Ashkenazys’ Art Collection

Beverly Hills Savings & Loan obtained a preliminary court order Tuesday allowing it to seize a $14-million art collection owned by Severyn and Arnold Ashkenazy, brothers who own some of Southern California’s poshest hotels, including L’Ermitage in Beverly Hills.

An informal court order from Kent Bridwell, a Los Angeles County Superior Court commissioner, gave Beverly Hills Savings permission to seize the art works as security for delinquent loans of more than $40 million, according to Henry Silberberg, an attorney representing Beverly Hills Savings. (A commissioner is a court officer who handles minor court functions, such as--in this case--property attachments.)

The art works, which hang in several Ashkenazy-owned hotels, will be seized “in a few weeks” by county law enforcement authorities after a final order is obtained, said Silberberg, who is with the Century City law firm of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan.

But, in a telephone interview, Severyn Ashkenazy said he did not think the paintings will be seized. “They can’t do that,” he said.

“We’re not sure what (the ruling) means,” Ashkenazy added. “There’s more than enough security to satisfy their claims. We’ve been trying to sit down and resolve this with them for a year.”

The court ruling is the latest blow to the real estate and hotel empire owned by the Polish-born Ashkenazy brothers. It has been battered in the past two years by a succession of financial problems with their hotels, costly lawsuits and bankruptcy filings.

The court order also allowed Beverly Hills Savings to seize the brothers’ ownership interests in two other family-owned companies that operate several hotel and ranch properties. Those companies are now operating under protection of the bankruptcy court, Silberberg said.

Beverly Hills Savings wants the art work as security for two delinquent loans--one for $28 million and the other for $11 million.

These loans have a combined value of more than $40 million when interest is included, Silberberg said.

Severyn Ashkenazy has valued the art collection at more than $14 million.

Most of it is located in hotels such as Mondrian and Le Bel Age in West Hollywood and L’Ermitage.

The art collection includes thousands of valuable paintings--including a Van Gogh, Renoir and Picasso--many of which were acquired by Ashkenazy’s family in Poland before World War II.

The Ashkenazy family barely escaped capture by the Nazis during World War II and later emigrated to France after the war ended.

They came to America in the 1950s after they were unable to get French citizenship, Severyn Ashkenazy has said in previous interviews.

Beverly Hills Savings, now based in Mission Viejo, was seized by federal savings and loan regulators in April, 1985, because the institution was insolvent.

Though the financial institution still has a large negative net worth, it has remained open under close regulatory supervision.