Should a league be able to force an owner to sell? (MOD: NBA/Donald Sterling)

[Fugu]

Is anyone else hoping the lawsuit goes on, he loses and then the team sells for under a billion?

I'm hoping the lawsuit goes on just to see how the courts would handle it, Ballmer decides he doesn't want to wait and buys the Lakers, Kings and Staples from AEG.

The Clippers would still sell for over $1 billion because there were two other parties with bids at $1.2 billion and 1.6 billion, respectively.

I would think the legal situation would hinge on whether Shelly's removal of Donald as a trustee was lawful. That would affect both whether she has authority to unilaterally sell the team, as well as whether she can use the assets held by the trust to indemnify the NBA.

Probably court-appointed docs to determine his mental state, which if upheld would put his wife in the clear.

 

[Fugu]

An EXTREMELY interesting piece on the behind-the-scenes discussions between the bidders and Rochelle Sterling for the Clippers:


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/10/s...ased-clippers-sale-to-steve-ballmer.html?_r=0


Who's this Bomber guy from Seattle?

 

[LadyStanley]

http://www.tsn.ca/nba/story/?id=454483

CP: Shirley Sterling heads to court to prove she can sell Clippers.

(IOW she does have "sole" control over trust)

 

[Fugu]

http://www.tsn.ca/nba/story/?id=454483

CP: Shirley Sterling heads to court to prove she can sell Clippers.

(IOW she does have "sole" control over trust)

Who needs soap operas and dramas when we have this debacle.

 

[MaskedSonja]

Who needs soap operas and dramas when we have this debacle.

Tell me about it. All we need now is some "Mystery Witness" to burst into the court dramatically and give the shocking evidence that will turn the tables.....

 

[LadyStanley]

Especially if the only "picture"/drawing of said witness is his shoes?




BTW, apparently Shelley also gets FIVE parking spaces and two courtside seats in the sale agreement she has with Ballmer.

(WTH does she need with FIVE parking spaces?)

 

[mouser]

(WTH does she need with FIVE parking spaces?)

So you can park one or two cars in those spaces without worrying about someone door dinging your very expensive car. Simple logic in my opine.

 

[The Apologist]

^^^ Seesawing. You really have to wonder about his state of mind and Im guessing the courts will do the same. Get him checked out yet again.

To me it would depend what he is being told in the background. He seems to have been of the opinion that selling the team would make everything else go away. Now that it's been made clear that it's not the case, he's not so willing to lose everything in the process for essentially being the victim of a blackmail attempt.

What I find amusing in all this is that I can almost guarantee that every single male in this thread white, black, whatever has probably said much worse in anger and the heat of the moment.

But hey, we don't own basketball teams so judge away.

 

[GuelphStormer]

Has Shelly Sterling also undergone testing for cognitive impairment?

Basic neurological literature suggests that 10% of persons aged 65 have some form of cognitive impairment (ranging from mild to severe) and close to 50% of those 85 years of age do.

Shelly is the same age as Donald, 80 years old, so it would not be extraordinary to wonder about the state of her own cognitive well-being. If the benchmark is simply to demonstrate any level of impairment (a very low benchmark for an 80yo), then statistically it should not be surprising to find that Shelly Sterling is also cognitively impaired (and thus, the Trust Plan B becomes much less clear).

Or, has there been some evidence presented that Shelly is still sharp as a tack?

 

[Fugu]

Has Shelly Sterling also undergone testing for cognitive impairment?

Basic neurological literature suggests that 10% of persons aged 65 have some form of cognitive impairment (ranging from mild to severe) and close to 50% of those 85 years of age do.

Shelly is the same age as Donald, 80 years old, so it would not be extraordinary to wonder about the state of her own cognitive well-being. If the benchmark is simply to demonstrate any level of impairment (a very low benchmark for an 80yo), then statistically it should not be surprising to find that Shelly Sterling is also cognitively impaired (and thus, the Trust Plan B becomes much less clear).

Or, has there been some evidence presented that Shelly is still sharp as a tack?

It could be a maneuver Donald's legal team attempts, but that wouldn't mean Donald can run the Trust. I presume it then falls to their kids, or an executor.

That said, I don't think the standard is some level of impairment, but a high enough level to show it affects abilities to make decisions or think through certain situations. My guess is that there are standardized tests and metrics per the medical and psychiatric diagnostic manuals.

 

[mouser]

Has Shelly Sterling also undergone testing for cognitive impairment?

Basic neurological literature suggests that 10% of persons aged 65 have some form of cognitive impairment (ranging from mild to severe) and close to 50% of those 85 years of age do.

Shelly is the same age as Donald, 80 years old, so it would not be extraordinary to wonder about the state of her own cognitive well-being. If the benchmark is simply to demonstrate any level of impairment (a very low benchmark for an 80yo), then statistically it should not be surprising to find that Shelly Sterling is also cognitively impaired (and thus, the Trust Plan B becomes much less clear).

Or, has there been some evidence presented that Shelly is still sharp as a tack?

Without seeing the legal language of the trust all we can do is speculate. However I'd have a hard time believing the trust clauses covering impairment of a trustee was intended to include any level of impairment. One would expect a material level of impairment affecting the ability to perform as a trustee would be the intended standard.

 

[GDAWG]

Sigh....this will last longer than the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.

 

[LadyStanley]

Heard on SiriusXM that trial for Shelley's right/declaration to run the whole trust shebang is on for July 7 (probate court).

 

[Fugu]

Sigh....this will last longer than the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.

Heard on SiriusXM that trial for Shelley's right/declaration to run the whole trust shebang is on for July 7 (probate court).

So another month before her status is confirmed.

 

[LadyStanley]

http://www.tsn.ca/nba/story/?id=454606

And more legal issues.

A former intern for the Los Angeles Clippers is accusing the team and its owners, the Sterling Family Trust, of violating labour laws by not paying its interns.

(Perhaps this'll roll into the existing intern class action suit?)

 

[LadyStanley]

Heard on SiriusXM that trial for Shelley's right/declaration to run the whole trust shebang is on for July 7 (probate court).

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014...M27R20140611?feedType=RSS&feedName=sportsNews
Emergency hearing yesterday.

Probate court 4 day trail beginning 7/7. NBA owners scheduled to vote on 7/15 for ownership change to Ballmer, or they'll be reinstituting charges/fines/etc. against Sterling.

Silver has maintained that an agreement struck with Shelly Sterling following the deal with Ballmer indemnifies the league against any legal action taken by her husband, so the Sterling Family Trust would have to pay any possible damages awarded to Donald Sterling.

Man is suing himself essentially?

 

[PCSPounder]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/clippers/la-me-sterling-clippers-sale-20140612-story.html#page=1

Will Sterling remember to sue his lawyers when he's done?

 

[MaskedSonja]

http://www.tsn.ca/nba/story/?id=454606

And more legal issues.



(Perhaps this'll roll into the existing intern class action suit?)

I wasn't aware of the Intern Class Action suit.....wow.

 

[mouser]

Silver has maintained that an agreement struck with Shelly Sterling following the deal with Ballmer indemnifies the league against any legal action taken by her husband, so the Sterling Family Trust would have to pay any possible damages awarded to Donald Sterling.

Man is suing himself essentially?

If the probate court finds in favor of Donald then its possible that Shelly doesn't have the authority to indemnify the NBA on behalf of the family trust.

 

[LadyStanley]

AP 10:30pm via SocialFlow "The gloves are off": Donald Sterling hires private eyes to find dirt on #NBA, other owners, source says: apne.ws/1ls6lzs




Sounds more like preparing for a mud slinging contest than trial.

 

[AmericanDream]

getting popcorn ready for this ridiculous show!!!

hope the NBA gets crushed by Sterling [mod]....this is so stupid it is glorious!

 

[Killion]

^^

NBA gets their you know what handed to them on a plate?.... Love to see that happening. About time somebody put these leagues in their places. Have my doubts it'll be Sterling but like Moyes in Phoenix this could get very messy & embarrassing for in this case obviously the NBA specifically but by extension & rote all of the major leagues. Laws unto themselves. Gotta stop somewhere sometime.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

AP 10:30pm via SocialFlow "The gloves are off": Donald Sterling hires private eyes to find dirt on #NBA, other owners, source says: apne.ws/1ls6lzs




Sounds more like preparing for a mud slinging contest than trial.

Heh, a couple years back, Stern once famously said that he he knew where the bodies were buried in a rather confrontational press conference.

The NBA better hope that they have good cleaners in that case.

 

[Brodie]

AP 10:30pm via SocialFlow "The gloves are off": Donald Sterling hires private eyes to find dirt on #NBA, other owners, source says: apne.ws/1ls6lzs




Sounds more like preparing for a mud slinging contest than trial.

Have you READ the infamous "the question was 'is this your handwriting'" deposition? That'll show you how seriously Sterling takes the court system.

 

[Soundwave]

I think it's kinda shameful for Sterling to try to crap on the NBA.

He bought that team for $12 million and is now getting $2 billion for it, and really not for anything he's done -- that team has been garbage for 90% of its history, he's just piggybacking off the growth of the league and the popularity of the Lakers in particular to score a huge pay day. Albiet, yes by forced sale, but still.

That's a pretty incredible return on any investment, one that he's managed incompetently at that. There's been no team in the NHL run as poorly as the Clippers for the last 30+ years, yet there isn't one NHL team that would likely garner $2 billion on the open market.

In 32 years of owning the team they've missed the playoffs in 25 of those years, lol.