Social Democrats could lose 400 million crowns in court battle

A legal dispute with a lawyer who won a court case for the Social Democratic Party in 1997 could cost the party as much as 400 million crowns (over 17 million dollars), according to party leader Stanislav Gross. The lawyer, Zdenek Altner won a legal dispute over Lidovy dum, the Social Democratic Party headquarters, and is demanding a vast sum of money for services rendered. Mr Altner signed an agreement with then party leader Milos Zeman under which the party would pay him ten percent of the value of the building, if he won it for them, plus ten percent of the profit from the lease of the office space. The party is disputing his claims in court.