Exactly where are last year’s auction house superstars since the U.S. Justice Department’s relentless pursuit of antitrust violators revealed collusion among the top movers and shakers? And how has the auction market been affected? The first admission of guilt by a senior executive of the world’s two leading auction houses came when Christie’s Christopher Davidge admitted to participation in price-fixing, thereby allowing that auction house a grant of immunity by offering evidence first. It was said that Diana D. Brooks, then chief executive of Sotheby’s, had attempted to offer evidence at that time but that her admission came too late for the same leniency. She has pleaded guilty to a violation of the antitrust laws, admitting to working with Christie’s to fix commission prices charged to sellers between 1993 and 1999.
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The above is an excerpt from an article by Elin Lake-Ewald, Ph.D, ASA, RICS, published in the ASA Personal Property Journal, Summer 2001.
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