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Nicholas O'Donnell was recently quoted in a Law360 article [sub. req’d] published April 14, 2026, titled “Trump Signs Revised HEAR Act For Nazi-Looted Art.”

The article reports on the enactment of the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025, which amends the original 2016 law to establish procedures for claims seeking to recover artwork and other property lost between 1933 and 1945 due to Nazi persecution. The revised statute is intended to ensure that claims are decided on their merits rather than dismissed on technical legal grounds.

The article cites Nick’s recent blog post on the Art Law Report, in which he wrote: “This replaced constructive knowledge and typical three-year limits, which is the standard under most state law statutes of limitations. In contrast to the original HEAR Act's 10-year sunset provision, the law now has no expiration.”

He also wrote that the new law responds to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp: “The result of Philipp was that heirs to the Nazis' first art theft victims — Jews from Germany — were left without recourse. This law repudiates that ill-reasoned decision (requiring jurisdictional analysis 'without regard to the nationality or citizenship of the alleged victim') and vindicates the argument that we made for our clients at the time.”