The fight in Delaware’s chancery court over Sotheby’s poison pill is turning up a lot more than we thought:

One director, Steven B. Dodge, wrote the board was “too chummy” and the auction house’s compensation plan was “red meat for the dogs” in email to fellow board members read by lawyers for Mr. Loeb’s Third Point LLC.

“The board is too comfortable, too chummy and not doing its job. Harsh? Yes, but I’m afraid not off the mark,” he wrote at one point, according to the testimony. “We have handed Loeb a killer set of issues on a platter.”

Other directors John M. Angelo and Dennis Weibling also expressed concerns about Sotheby’s losing ground to privately held rival Christie’s International PLC and spending too much money, according to the court testimony.

Sotheby’s Board Members Said Loeb Right on Many Criticisms of Auction House (WSJ.com)