Despite two legal challenges, officials of the failed Fresno Metropolitan Museum say they hope to auction off most of their art collections by October.

Riley Walter, the Fresno bankruptcy lawyer who has served the Met as a crisis consultant for more than a year, wrote in an e-mail Wednesday that the auctions will be held in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

"Some of the collection will be sold in May," Walter wrote. "Other parts won't be sold until as late as December. The majority of the items will be sold between June and October."

Walter did not identify the auction houses or say which of the Met's collections will be sold in which cities. Walter has said the museum would keep the public informed about auction details, but has not said how that will be accomplished -- or what details will be released. The Bee was unable to reach Walter for more information.

But Walter's announcement suggests that the Met doesn't anticipate legal challenges to derail its efforts to sell the collection and use the proceeds to pay creditors.

The son and daughter-in-law of the late nature photographer Ansel Adams sued the Met this month seeking to block the sale of six of Adams' photos that were donated to the museum. The couple's attorney, Melody Hawkins, declined to comment on the case.

And soon after the Met closed its doors for good in early January, Fresno lawyer Robert Rosati asked the state Attorney General's Office to investigate whether it is proper for the Met, as a nonprofit entity, to sell off its collection to satisfy its debts.

Rosati claims that as a nonprofit, the Met agreed that its assets would be used for public purposes. Rosati contends that if the museum is dissolved its assets should continue to be used for a public purpose.

Rosati on Wednesday said he recently received a letter from the Attorney General's Office acknowledging that it received the complaint but declining to say whether it would investigate.

"I think the duty of the Attorney General's Office is to protect the public," Rosati said in a phone interview. "This is a case where only the Attorney General's Office can take the appropriate action."

The Met's collection has been valued at $3 million to $6 million. Walter has said the museum's debt is about $4 million.

The Met auctioned off its personal assets, such as furniture and office equipment, in February.

The Met closed 14 months after undergoing a three-year, $28 million renovation to its historic building in downtown Fresno. Museum officials said the recession made it impossible to pay the bills.

The Met's executive director, Dana Thorpe, who agreed to stay on for a couple of months to help settle the museum's affairs, has returned to Chicago, Walter said.