Sotheby's and Yuga Labs respond to lawsuit from Bored Ape investors

Art broker Sotheby's has become part of the ongoing legal battle between Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) investors and NFT company Yuga Labs. The investors' lawsuit claims that Sotheby's helped Yuga Labs deceptively promote the NFT collection, which Sotheby's denies as "baseless."

The BAYC investors initially filed a class-action lawsuit against Yuga Labs and various celebrities, alleging that they artificially inflated the prices of the NFTs through celebrity endorsements. Sotheby's was later included in an amendment to the lawsuit due to its auction of 101 BAYC NFTs in September 2021, which generated over $24 million in sales. The investors claim that Sotheby's involvement lent legitimacy to Yuga Labs and misled them.

However, both Sotheby's and Yuga Labs have rejected the allegations. Sotheby's stated that the claims are without merit and asserted their readiness to defend themselves vigorously. Yuga Labs echoed this sentiment, dismissing the new allegations as opportunistic and lacking factual basis.

In a separate legal matter, Yuga Labs settled a lawsuit with a developer involved in selling a copycat NFT collection called RR/BAYC. The settlement resulted in a permanent injunction preventing the developer from using similar BAYC imagery or implying any connection with Yuga Labs through social media.

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