Taubman Agrees to Pay $156 Mil in Sotheby's Price Fixing Case

DETROIT-The Board of Directors of Sotheby’s Holdings, Inc. has voted unanimously to approve the settlements of claims against the company in a civil antitrust lawsuit and a shareholder lawsuit claiming the company fixed prices at its art auctions while Detroit real estate mogul Al Taubman was chairman of the art auction house.The Independent Committee of the Board of Directors has also approved the settlement of potential claims between the Company and Mr. Taubman.

“I endorse and am contributing to these settlements to facilitate the resolution of all matters and to minimize the impact on Sotheby’s, a company I care about deeply,” Taubman said.

“Our goal over the last several months has been to put behind us the litigation clouding Sotheby’s future. The settlements we have approved today resolve the lawsuits in which the company had the greatest potential financial exposure,” sysd Michael Sovern, chairman of the board of Sotheby’s Holdings.