July 9 (Reuters) - A proposed consumer antitrust

settlement with The Walt Disney Co ( DIS ) has kicked off a turf

battle among competing plaintiffs law firms, with one group

calling the deal unfair and the other warning the spat could

blow up the agreement.

Disney ( DIS ) in June agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to settle

a class action lawsuit by YouTube TV, DirecTV Stream and FuboTV ( FUBO )

subscribers represented by law firm Bathaee Dunne who claimed

the company harmed competition for live-streamed paid television

through agreements with providers.

Rival plaintiffs' lawyers at law firms DiCello Levitt and

Lite DePalma Greenberg & Afanador, who represent Fubo consumers

in a related lawsuit against Disney ( DIS ), complained in a Tuesday

court filing that they were excluded from the negotiations.

The filing accused Bathaee Dunne, which sued first in 2022,

of allowing Disney ( DIS ) to engage in a "reverse auction" by agreeing

to an inadequate settlement at the expense of other plaintiffs.

The Bathaee Dunne firm has denied allowing a lowball

settlement and said in court filings that the deal is contingent

on the firm being appointed as lead counsel for classes of

YouTube TV, DirecTV Stream and Fubo subscribers.

Bathaee Dunne said the rival attorneys are "newly-arrived"

and that their jockeying for a bigger seat at the table could

derail the settlement.

Disney ( DIS ), which has denied any wrongdoing, and a lawyer for

the company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The lead plaintiffs' attorneys in both cases also did not

immediately respond to requests for comment.

Disney ( DIS ) controls live-stream provider Hulu and the sports

network ESPN ( DIS ). Disney ( DIS ) has required streaming providers such as

YouTube TV to include ESPN ( DIS ) as part of a base package. The

consumer lawsuits contend Disney's ( DIS ) business agreements

artificially increased consumer prices across the market for

livestreamed television.

The proposed Disney ( DIS ) settlement features a monetary component

and other benefits, but the terms have not been publicly

disclosed.

Disney ( DIS ) in a recent filing said the proposed settlement is

not open to renegotiation.

The cases are Biddle v. The Walt Disney Co ( DIS ) and Unger v. The

Walt Disney Co ( DIS ), U.S. District Court for the Northern District of

California, Nos. 5:22-cv-07317 and 5:25-cv-01163.

For Biddle: Yavar Bathaee and Brian Dunne of Bathaee Dunne

For Unger: Joseph DePalma and Steven Greenfogel of Lite

DePalma Greenberg & Afanador; Greg Asciolla and Carrie Syme of

DiCello Levitt

For Disney ( DIS ): Daniel Petrocelli of O'Melveny & Myers

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