Lawyers Who Killed $50 Million Lutnick Bonus Lose Payout Appeal

Newmark Group Inc. investors who negotiated a court settlement clawing back a $50 million bonus from US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick lost their bid Friday for $5 million more in legal fees.

Delaware’s top tribunal upheld a $7.5 million payout, a figure reflecting 15% of the cash returned to the commercial real estate firm’s coffers. The one-page order, citing “the reasons stated” by a lower court judge, offered no independent basis for rejecting the arguments raised by the shareholder attorneys who led the case.

Lutnick—the Cantor Fitzgerald LP ex-CEO who left his financial empire in his family’s hands when he ...