For the executor to establish, on behalf of the estate, an affirmative defense on the basis of the doctrine of laches, she must demonstrate that the museum failed to exercise reasonable diligence to locate the tablet and that such failure prejudiced the estate. ... The executor did not establish that the museum failed to exercise reasonable diligence to locate the tablet. ... The executor's contention that the museum failed to exercise reasonable diligence by not reporting the tablet stolen to law enforcement authorities or listing it on an international stolen art registry is not, under the circumstances of this case, dispositive. The executor's argument that, had the museum taken such steps, the tablet would have surfaced earlier, is mere conjecture and, moreover, is not supported by expert or other evidence.

The Appellate Division's ruling reverses a 2010 ruling by the Nassau County Surrogate Court [official website], which ruled in favor of the Flamenbaum family. In support of its decision, the surrogate court cited the failure of the Vorderasiatisches Museum to locate the tablet [NYT report]. It is unclear how Flamenbaum obtained the tablet after his liberation from Auschwitz in 1945.