LOS ANGELES, March 9 (UPI) -- Orson Welle's daughter plans to auction her father's Oscar after a Los Angeles judge ruled in her favor in a dispute over ownership of the statuette.
The judge's ruling Monday ended a long battle between Beatrice Wells and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences over her right to sell the award her father won in 1941 for best original screenplay for "Citizen Kane, the BBC reported Tuesday.
The Academy dictates it has first right of refusal for $1 if an award winner or any heirs want to sell the statue.
Welles' case centered on a replacement statue the family received in 1988 because the original award had been lost. At the time, Welles agreed not to sell the replacement Oscar.
In 1994, the original statue was found. Welles then tried to auction it, but the Academy stopped her.
Welles sued the Academy, saying her agreement pertained to the replacement statue, not the original. The judge agreed.
