Excerpt: "Lawyers representing individuals who claim Sotheby's Holdings Inc.
and Christies International PLC colluded on commissions and defrauded them
are expected to get around $27 million (31.8 million euros) in fees for settling the
class-action lawsuit for $512 million, according to individuals familiar with the
case.
The fees for the firm, Boies, Schiller & Flexner, represent about 5% of the
proposed settlement, which includes $412 million in cash and $100 million in
discount coupons that sellers can apply to future transactions with the two
auction houses. Fees typically range from 10% to as much as 30% of a
settlement.
In this class action, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan sought bids from leading
law firms on fees they would charge the plaintiffs, looking to tap a qualified firm
at the lowest cost to the class. After receiving the bids from about 20 firms,
Judge Kaplan appointed Boies, Schiller, which wasn't involved in the case at the
start, as lead counsel in May."
