OT: MLB takes over (running) LA Dodgers owners divorcing; Court sup'd sale agreed to

[LadyStanley]

EricFisherSBJ 4:37pm via Web And the hits keep coming. Fox Sports Net West sues #Dodgers in bankruptcy court for unspec. damages, says current rights must be protected


EricFisherSBJ 4:38pm via Web
FSN West alleges #Dodgers have breached several points of current cable TV rights deal by seeking new bid process in bankruptcy court.


EricFisherSBJ 4:40pm via Web
Like MLB, FSN West wants halt to #Dodgers bid to shop out cable TV rights, which are the centerpiece of McCourt reorganization strategy.




This definitely is getting interesting. Where's the popcorn.

 

[knorthern knight]

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross set Oct. 31 as the start of a hearing to decide between two futures for the franchise: one in which McCourt keeps the team and sells the rights to televise its games, or is forced to sell one of the most storied clubs in Major League Baseball.

“There is no middle ground,†Gross said in his scheduling order, filed today in Wilmington, Delaware, where the hearing will take place.

Full article at http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...-judge-sets-date-for-team-fight-with-mlb.html

 

[LadyStanley]

http://twitter.com/#!/EricFisherSBJ

Has some interesting tweets this morning.

Looking for reversal of ruling allowing Dodgers to depose other MLB teams (especially $$). Dodges also claim they're being unfairly treated (compared to other MLB teams) by league, including over schedule.


Edit: Hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

 

[LadyStanley]

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/17/3985483/report-mccourts-reach-divorce.html#mi_rss=Sports

Divorce settlement reached. He gets the team, she gets $130m. (Article has nice timeline as well.)


Bankruptcy court hearing on Wednesday.

Last week, attorneys for Major League Baseball withdrew a motion to disqualify attorneys representing the Dodgers in the team's bankruptcy case. League attorneys said they were withdrawing the motion at the suggestion of a court-appointed mediator.

League attorneys had argued that the Dodgers attorneys should be disqualified because they were advancing the interests of Dodgers owner Frank McCourt at the expense of the team's interests.

 

[Fugu]

I found this part intriguing. Is it required that an owner use the revenue he receives for his team on the team?

The McCourts previously reached a divorce settlement on June 17, but the deal was contingent on approval of a proposed television contract between the Dodgers and Fox.


But Selig rejected the TV contract, noting in part that almost half of an immediate $385 million payment from Fox would have been diverted from the Dodgers.

On June 27, Frank McCourt took the Dodgers into bankruptcy.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/17/3985483/report-mccourts-reach-divorce.html#ixzz1b3Okci8P
​

 

[mouser]

I found this part intriguing. Is it required that an owner use the revenue he receives for his team on the team?

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/17/3985483/report-mccourts-reach-divorce.html#ixzz1b3Okci8P
​

I think it's more a special case of McCourt's conduct then a blanket rule all revenue to all teams must be spent only on the team.

Most of the leagues do have rules about how much debt to equity an owner is permitted to carry. A good argument could be made that the up front payment on the proposed TV deal was effectively a loan to the baseball team that McCourt planned to take for personal use. Would be curious how that would have meshed with the overall debt McCourt has taken against the team entities.

 

[hatterson]

I found this part intriguing. Is it required that an owner use the revenue he receives for his team on the team?

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/17/3985483/report-mccourts-reach-divorce.html#ixzz1b3Okci8P
​

As mouser said, I think this was a unique case. It seemed fairly clear that McCourt simply needed the money to deal with a divorce settlement and, in Selig's opinion, ceased looking for the best deal for the team and only looked for the deal that would give him enough up front to get through the divorce (theoretically sacrificing future gains for immediate payoffs at a very poor exchange rate).

If an owner who isn't having financial issues decided to sign a TV deal and get paid $300M up front and had that going into his own pocket I doubt Selig would have much issue. However it appears that McCourt was simply leveraging his position as an MLB owner to bail himself out of financial troubles caused by something completely unrelated to baseball, which is where Selig took issue.

 

[LadyStanley]

http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=378889

STH reps get seats on committee of unsecured creditors

 

[LadyStanley]

http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=378976

Bankruptcy hearing delayed from 10/31 to 11/29. (4 days scheduled)

No reason given.

 

[I Am Ziggy Palffy]

Attendance was historically down this year at dodger stadium. Fans are finally reacting to McCourts mismanagement of the team. Hence, MLB stepping in to redeem the value of one of it's prize franchises. Everyone's intention in this is quite clear. They're just trying to play by the rules to get their way.

 

[kdb209]

http://www.mercurynews.com/central-coast/ci_19192206

Dodgers bankruptcy documents name Bryan Stow's lawsuit as key
By Jessica M. Pasko
[email protected]
Posted: 10/26/2011 06:25:39 AM PDT
Updated: 10/26/2011 06:25:46 AM PDT

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt looted nearly $190 million from the Los Angeles team, using the money for non-baseball use in violation of Major League Baseball rules, according to Delaware bankruptcy court documents filed on Monday.

It's the first time the league has specified an amount, the Los Angeles Times reported. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig wants to oust McCourt.

A flurry of bankruptcy documents filed Monday said San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow, 42, of Santa Cruz, who was severely beaten in the Dodger Stadium parking lot on opening day, could be a central figure in next week's critical bankruptcy court hearing in Dover, Del.

Stow's lawyer Thomas Girardi has said his client's medical bills could exceed $50 million. Stow's representatives sit on the official committee of creditors.

...

Using team revenue for non-baseball use is one of 10 MLB rules broken by McCourt, the league said. A violation of any league rules are grounds for termination of McCourt's franchise.

The league claimed McCourt funneled $73 million in parking revenue through Blue Land Co., a non-team related entity, and he used $61 million in team revenue to pay off personal debts. The court documents also said McCourt took $55 million from team revenue for personal use.

"The Dodgers are in bankruptcy because McCourt has taken almost $190 million out of the club and has completely alienated the Dodgers' fan base," the league said.

The creditors' committee and Fox Sports each asked the bankruptcy judge to deny the Dodgers' bid to auction television rights. The TV deal is key to McCourt's strategy to emerge from bankruptcy as the team's owner.

 

[LadyStanley]

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/10/28/bryan-stow’s-lawyer-criticizes-dodgers-attorney/

Dodgers attorney criticizes beating victim Stow, saying he was partially responsible for getting beaten; trying to deflect blame in civil suit that claims Dodgers/McCourt responsible (for not having "safe" environment for visiting fan). Dodgers have counter-sued accused beaters.

 

[dkhockey]

Stow's lawyer Thomas Girardi has said his client's medical bills could exceed $50 million.....--.....that can´t be right ?

 

[DelpoRafaKilla]

They didn't say that, the suit could be worth about 50 million.

 

[kdb209]

Stow's lawyer Thomas Girardi has said his client's medical bills could exceed $50 million.....--.....that can´t be right ?

They didn't say that, the suit could be worth about 50 million.

Yes they did.

LOS ANGELES (CBS / AP) — Medical care for the San Francisco Giants fan who was brutally beaten outside Dodger Stadium is expected to cost more than $50 million, according to his lawyers.

The figure was part of a damage estimate included in papers filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, according to City News Service.

The filings come in a lawsuit Bryan Stow and his children have brought against Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and 13 others in the baseball team’s organization. The suit alleges a lack of security, lighting and other problems at the ballpark.

 

[LadyStanley]

abc7newsBayArea 11:19pm via Web #BREAKING: LA @Dodgers & Major League Baseball release a joint statement saying they agree to a “court supervised process to sell the team.â€

 

[Hawkscap]

Stow's lawyer Thomas Girardi has said his client's medical bills could exceed $50 million.....--.....that can´t be right ?

I am guessing that is lifetime care from the injuries sustained.

 

[LadyStanley]

abc7newsBayArea 11:19pm via Web #BREAKING: LA @Dodgers & Major League Baseball release a joint statement saying they agree to a “court supervised process to sell the team.â€

http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=379446
AP article

 

[LadyStanley]

MicheleSteele 8:57am via TweetDeck Fox is doing math here w/ Dodgers -- network wld spend $3b/17yrs for TV rights vs spending $800m-$1b for team outright & guarantee of rights




Interesting.


(Cuban quoted in her twitter feed he would not spend more than $1b to purchase team, and it sound like he might be out of bidding at the start.)

 

[LadyStanley]

http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=379527

While the sides hope for a quick deal, giving McCourt the money to pay his divorce settlement by April, MLB sales sometimes drag on for six months to 1 1/2 years. Once bidders are identified, the court is likely to conduct an auction.

"Baseball can choose to have their approval process move like molasses in winter or like Castor oil through a baby," said Marc Ganis, president of Sportscorp, a Chicago-based consulting firm.

The price likely will break the record for a baseball franchise, topping the $845 million paid by the Ricketts family for the Chicago Cubs in 2009.

Investors will be solicited by the Blackstone Group, McCourt's investment banker. Dallas Mavericks co-owner Mark Cuban and Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle, who lives in California, have been mentioned as possibilities. Asian investors have made inquiries.

 

[dkhockey]

I am guessing that is lifetime care from the injuries sustained.

still can´t be right..........what about the soldiers wounded in iraq and afghanistan........many of them are worse off.......should they cost 50 mil. a person to take care off ?

 

[dkhockey]

who has the money to buy them.........AND willing to make them champs again ?

 

[kilowatt]

who has the money to buy them.........AND willing to make them champs again ?

Hopefully, Philip Anschutz. He already owns the Lakers, Kings, and Galaxy, not to mention LA's new Farmers Field for a football team. He could take the Dodgers and build a new stadium and finish taking over Los Angeles.

 

[LadyStanley]

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2011/11/29/2138409/arguments-delayed-in-fox-dodgers.html

Bankruptcy hearing scheduled for 11/30 delayed a week, hoping that mediation may resolve some of the issues.

Last week, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross canceled a hearing on Fox's request to postpone Wednesday's session and appointed a mediator to try to resolve the dispute. The mediation began Monday in Los Angeles.

Fox, a division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., contends the team's plan would violate its rights under an existing contract with the Dodgers.

The Dodgers have accused Fox and its Prime Ticket regional sports network of trying to interfere with efforts to sell the team and its assets so that it can emerge from bankruptcy.

 

[LadyStanley]

http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=381822

[Magic] Johnson, the longtime Los Angeles Lakers superstar and former part-owner of the NBA club, is partnering with former Atlanta Braves executive Stan Kasten and wealthy investor Mark Walter in the upcoming auction for the Dodgers, who filed for bankruptcy protection in June. McCourt finally agreed last month to auction the team at an undetermined future date.