The Philadelphia Art Museum has filed serious allegations of financial misconduct against its recently fired director and chief executive, Sasha Suda, claiming she misappropriated museum funds and lied to cover up the alleged theft. The museum's court petition, filed on November 20, directly responds to Suda's own lawsuit from November 10, in which she accused the institution of breach of contract, bad faith treatment, unfair practices, and abuse while seeking a jury trial, damages, and two years of severance pay.
According to the museum's legal filing, Suda repeatedly requested salary increases from the compensation committee of the museum's board of trustees during her tenure. When the committee denied these requests, the petition alleges that Suda took the additional compensation without authorization, directly defying the board's decisions and violating the terms of her employment contract. While the petition does not specify the exact amounts allegedly misappropriated, Suda's starting base salary in 2022 was $720,000, and she was only three years into her five-year contract when terminated.
Suda's version of events tells a markedly different story. In her lawsuit, she maintains that she had received only a 3% cost-of-living salary increase that was fully consistent with her contract and aligned with the compensation agreement negotiated with the museum workers' union in 2022. She further alleges that museum board chair Ellen Caplan deliberately fabricated a false narrative regarding her compensation as a pretext to launch a forensic investigation into her salary and expenses, ultimately leading to a second vote of confidence in which the board's executive committee decided to terminate her employment.
Luke Nikas, a lawyer with Quinn Emanuel representing Suda, strongly disputed the museum's accusations in a statement to The Art Newspaper. "The museum's accusations are false," Nikas declared. "These are the same recycled allegations from the sham investigation that the museum manufactured as a pretext for Suda's wrongful termination." He characterized the museum's legal strategy as part of a broader pattern of misconduct, stating that "the motion, as well as its false narrative, fits the [PAM's] longstanding pattern of trying to cover up its misconduct and mistreatment of staff."
The Philadelphia Art Museum has requested that all of Suda's allegations be resolved through private arbitration rather than public court proceedings. In their petition, museum representatives dismissed her claims in harsh terms, asserting that "neither her meritless breach of contract claim, nor her delusional allegations of victimhood and persecution deserve to be heard in court." A museum spokesperson provided a brief statement saying, "The Philadelphia Art Museum has filed a petition to compel arbitration and stay judicial proceedings in response to the claims made by Sasha Suda. We have no further comment at this time."
Nikas criticized the museum's push for arbitration, suggesting it represents an attempt to hide damaging information from public scrutiny. "We expected the museum would prefer to hide the sordid details about its unlawful treatment of Sasha Suda in a confidential arbitration," he explained. "If the museum had nothing to hide, it would not be afraid to litigate in state court where we filed the case." This legal maneuvering highlights the stark divide between the two parties' interpretations of events and their preferred approaches to resolution.
In a swift move to maintain institutional stability, the Philadelphia Art Museum announced the appointment of Daniel Weiss as Suda's replacement just one day after filing the theft allegations against her. Weiss, who previously served as director and chief executive of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, brings significant experience to the troubled institution. However, his appointment carries additional intrigue, as Suda's lawsuit reveals that Weiss had previously worked as a governance consultant for the Philadelphia Art Museum and had allegedly described the institution's leadership to Suda in unflattering terms, telling her "It is a very dysfunctional board." This revelation adds another layer of complexity to an already contentious situation that has exposed deep rifts within one of America's premier cultural institutions.
