US judge tosses lawsuit against glass artist Dale Chihuly

SEATTLE – A federal judge in Seattle has thrown out a lawsuit by a man who claimed to have contributed to paintings by the glass artist Dale Chihuly.

Michael Moi worked for years as a handyman at Chihuly’s studio, for which he was paid. But he claimed Chihuly owed him more than $20 million for work he did on 285 paintings from 1999 to 2014. Chihuly said he had no recollection or record of Moi working on any paintings.

U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik ruled Thursday that Moi had failed to demonstrate what his contributions to any paintings were or that he should be considered a co-author of them.

Moi said Chihuly promised to “take care” of him for his contributions to the paintings. The judge said that promise, if made, was too vague to enforce.