"Grand Theft Auto" settlement dwarfed by plaintiffs' legal bill

Lawyers who sued the makers of the video game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" profess to be shocked that few people who bought the game were offended by sex scenes buried in its software. Any purchaser upset about hidden sex in the violent game could file a claim under a settlement the lawyers struck with its maker, Take-Two Interactive. Of the millions of people who bought the version after its release in 2004, exactly 2,676 filed claims.

The civil lawsuit was filed after the disclosure of the sex scenes, accessible only to savvy players using third-party software, sparked fulmination in the U.S. Congress and excitement online. The suit charged the company with defrauding buyers by failing to disclose the sex scenes.

"Am I disappointed? Sure," said Seth Lesser, the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs. "We can't guess as to why now, several years later, people care or don't care. The merits of the case were clear."

Far bigger than the payout to plaintiffs will be the fees sought by the lawyers who brought the class action. Lesser and his colleagues at 10 other law firms have asked for more than $1.3 million - compared with less than $30,000 that Take-Two Interactive's lawyers say it will spend to resolve the claims for $5 to $35 each, or a clean copy of the game.