In Tams-Witmark Music Library v. New Opera Co., 81 N.E.2d 70, 74-75 (N.Y. 1948), the New York Court of Appeals held that a licensee is entitled to recover amounts paid to a licensor if it turns out that the work was actually in the public domain. Specifically, the Court awarded $50,000 to an opera company because the company had paid that amount for a license to perform "The Merry Widow," a work that was actually in the public domain. The Court reasoned that license lacked consideration and the licensor had breached an implied warranty of title.