Rumors for divorce
Dodgers’ ownership to be decided on Friday?
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Throughout the Frank and Jaime McCourt wild court ride, there has been a court appointed mediator to help both sides reach an agreement. Judge Peter Lichtman is the court appointed mediator and he will give his recommendation on Friday as to who should be given ownership of the Dodgers as well as the other McCourt assets. The mediation process is confidential, so the settlement proposal is not expected to be released publicly.
The conclusion of mediation is expected to trigger the court ruling that could determine who owns the Dodgers. Frank has asked the court to uphold an agreement that specifies he is sole owner of the team; Jamie has asked the court to invalidate that agreement. It is more than likely that the wonderful our fans are the most important and we never lie McCourt’s will not agree to the mediators ruling
Though the mediators decision will more than likely not be agreed upon by both sides, it may shed some light as to how the court will rule as to who the Dodgers’ owner should be. Judge Scott Gordon has until December 28th to make his ruling. A ruling though will more than likely come right after the Thanksgiving holiday break.
Information from Bill Shaikin and Carly Hall of the LA Times, was used in this article.
Jamie McCourt takes the stand with Dodger ownership at stake
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Today marked the return of testimony after a two week break in the McCourt proceedings. Things didn’t start off so hot for Jamie McCourt’s side today. On her way to court, Jamie’s driver hit a pedestrian who was crossing the street. Once she hit the stand, she talked about how Frank and her would frequently talk about selling the team if they couldn’t turn around its financial misfortunes. “We felt confident we would have positive cash flow in two to three years,” she said under questioning by her attorney. “If something did not turn out exactly right, we could always sell.”
Jamie is also a family law attorney and when questioned about reviewing the legal documents, she admitted to not reading them as reviewing legal documents is “boring.” Remember that next time you ask an attorney to review documents they are really thinking they are boring as they collect $300 plus an hour from you. But back to the McCourts.
Jamie did say that if she had read the documents or comprehended that they said she would give up the rights to the Dodgers, it would have “sounded a lot of alarms” and she would have asked a few questions before signing the documents.
The two sides will continue to exchange jabs and attempt to persuade Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon who is in fact a Dodger fan according to a PRO Rumors source.
I leave you with a nice Q & A between Frank McCourt’s attorney, Steve Susman and Jamie McCourt as she is being questioned on the stand.
Susman recited Jamie McCourt’s credentials as a practicing lawyer before asking her: “As a lawyer, do you believe people should be bound by what they sign?”
She replied: “I believe it as a lawyer and as a normal person.”
Information from ESPN.com was used in this article.
Peter O’Malley: Current Dodgers ownership has ‘lost all credibility’
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Los Angeles Times’ Bill Shaikin says former Dodgers’ owner, Peter O’Malley, called upon Frank McCourt to sell the franchise. O’Malley said “the current Dodger ownership has lost all credibility throughout the city.”
“In my judgment,” O’Malley said, “it would be best for the franchise and the city if there was new ownership.”
O’Malley is not interested in returning to ownership, but he would be willing to smooth the transition for a potential new owner.
Frank McCourt responded to O’Malley’s statement through his spokesperson:
“Frank has made it abundantly clear he is the long-term owner of the Dodgers,” spokespereson Steve Sugerman said, “and he looks forward to the day when his four boys own and operate the team.”
Frank and Jamie McCourt are going through a divorce where Frank is contending that the team is his sole property as opposed to community property. O’Malley sold the team to FOX for $311 million in 1998 and FOX sold the team to McCourt for $430 million in 2004.
Could Bud Selig force the McCourt Family to sell the Los Angeles Dodgers?
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to four people close to MLB commissioner Bud Selig (via Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times), Selig is “dismayed at the public spectacle” surrounding the McCourt divorce and concerned about the lasting damage to the Dodgers’ franchise. He told those people that he wants the Dodgers ownership situation to be resolved before his scheduled 2012 retirement.
Shaikin says that one option that Selig could pursue would be a forced sale of the franchise. However, such a move could lead to backlash from other owners, and low ball offers from prospective investors. There has been been precedent before. In 1912, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Horace Fogel was “banished for repeatedly impugning the integrity of umpires and opponents.” Selig also encouraged Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott to sell in 1999 after she had been suspended twice.
Should the Dodgers come up for sale, Shaikin says there’s a long line of possible buyers including Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, former player agent Dennis Gilbert, Boston Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner, former commissioner Peter Ueberroth, real estate developer Alan Casden, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Asian investors.
The Dodgers turned a profit of $111 million over the last four years, including $38 million in 2009.
Joe Torre to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers?
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Manager Joe Torre was approached recently by an individual who would like Torre to join him in purchasing the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times.
“I get people who make all kinds of suggestions all the time, and especially with the mood of everything going on around here right now it’s not surprising,” said Torre, his way of confirming such a conversation took place.
Torre added, “some of these suggestions are real and some tongue in cheek and that’s something to discuss and determine at a later date.”
Simers compared Torre purchasing the Dodgers to the way Nolan Ryan formed an investment group to purchase the Texas Rangers.
There is a possibility that the Dodgers could be up for the sale in the near future. The McCourt family, owners of the team, are going through a bitter divorce and arguments as to who owns the team. In order to satisfy the divorce requirements, it’s possible the team may be sold. In April 2010, Forbes.com valued the Dodgers’ franchise at $727 million – more than double of what Frank McCourt paid in 2004 ($355 million).
Commissioner’s office backing Frank McCourt for Dodger ownership
Posted by: | Comments8/24 06:25: When the McCourt “money trial” gets under way on the 30th of this month, Frank is going to have some backers in his corner who many people might have thought were not going to get involved. According to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times, Bud Selig and the commissioner’s office will send their top lawyer, Thomas Ostertag to provide evidence that in the league’s eyes and the other owner’s eyes, Frank is the sole owner of the team. Ostertag will come equipped with documents from when the Dodgers were purchased to prove his comments as well.
8/20 13:24: Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times says the trial to determine ownership of the Dodgers is set to start August 30, with Frank McCourt claiming the Dodgers are his alone and Jamie arguing she owns half of the team.
8/19 13:16: In court documents obtained by TMZ, former Los Angeles Dodgers CEO Jamie McCourt claims Frank McCourt and his lawyer fraudulently altered documents in an effort to strip her of the ownership of the team.
Frank claims in 2004 that Jamie signed over complete ownership of the team to him. However, in new papers filed today by Dennis Wasser, Jamie’s lawer, there was another “Exhibit” that was the final word on the ownership of the Dodgers – preserving Jamie’s right to the team.
According to the TMZ Staff:
Wasser now says, after the document was signed, Frank and his lawyer pulled a switcheroo, by substituting the old “Exhibit” for the new one — thereby cutting Jamie out.
Wasser says in his new legal docs … Jamie is the victim of a “fraudulently altered document.”
You can see the documents here.
The McCourts have been in a bitter divorce since last year. Both are fighting for an estimated $1.29 billion of assets that includes the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise. Many believe that because of the divorce it has caused the team to not sign or trade for players that would improve on-field performance.
Will the McCourts be forced to sell the Dodgers?
Posted by: | CommentsDodger fans have grown tired of hearing Frank and Jamie McCourt complain about money. Jamie says she needs a million dollars a month to survive. Frank is screaming the no money card, which is not what an owner of a major league team should be saying. Well you can now add the judge presiding over their divorce to the list of people who are tired of hearing them complain.
The Los Angeles Dodgers could be ordered sold if the McCourts do not resolve payments, including property taxes and attorney’s fees, according to the Los Angeles Times. Each McCourt continues to complain of low liquidity, and L.A. Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon thought of one way to resolve their cash flow issue — putting a for sale sign at Chavez Ravine, the newspaper said.
“The parties are unintentionally pushing the court toward an interesting position — selling the asset which is being fought over,” Gordon said in a court hearing.
The Dodgers and their facilities are worth over $700 million, according to Forbes Magazine. According to an article in the July issue of ESPN The Magazine, Frank McCourt has borrowed an estimated $390 million against the team.
Observers of the divorce view the court commissioner’s language in the court ruling as a threat. The commissioner is more likely to make the McCourts sell off other assets such as one of their many estates.
The McCourts purchased the Dodgers in 2004 from News Corp. Under the McCourts ownership, the Dodgers have been to the playoffs four times, advancing to the NLCS in 2008 and 2009.
What does this mean for the Dodgers as they approach the trade deadline? It’s not a good sign when you need an ace like Roy Oswalt but have no money to pay him.
Information was used from ESPN.com in this article.
Update – Dodgers hired Russian healer to help team win?
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6/14 11:25: When Dodgers’ manager Joe Torre was asked if the use of long-distance energy transfer from healer Vladimir Shpunt was cheating, he said, “Don’t bother me. Please don’t bother me.”
Torre insisted he hasn’t read the story – in part to avoid having to answer questions about it.
Torre’s first season in 2008 was the last that the Dodgers employed the Russian healer.
A member of the 14-person committee that reviews on-field issues, Torre would not say whether the use of sorcery was raised during the group’s conference call last week.
“I’m not allowed to divulge what goes on in our conference calls, but thanks for asking,” he said.
Did Torre ever feel “V energy”?
“Get out of here,” he said.
Information from Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times was used in this article.
6/10 11:42: The Los Angeles Times says Dodgers owners Frank and Jamie McCourt paid Vladimir Shpunt, 71, originally from Russia to send positive energy over great distances to help the team win. Shpunt was employed by the Dodgers for five years and only attended one game. He spent him time watching games on television and channeled his thoughts toward team success.
Shpunt says he is a scientist and a healer, not a magician. His method could not guarantee the Dodgers would win, he says, but it could make a difference.
“Maybe it is just a little,” he said. “Maybe it can help.”
Executive leadership consultant Barry Cohen introduced Shpunt to the McCourts and many times reinforced Shpunts value to the owners. After Steve Finley secured the team’s first playoff spot in eight years in 2004, Cohen said via email to Jamie McCourt, “The miracle finish … was the result of V energy. Frank was privileged to actually feel the energy.”
The Dodgers paid Shpunt a stipend and a bonus of “certainly six figures and even higher” depending on whether the Dodgers won the National League West title and how far they got in the playoffs.
Is the Dodgers Divorce impacting the team’s draft strategy?
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Yesterday, the Los Angeles Dodgers selected Zach Lee, a right-handed pitcher with the 28th pick of the first-round. Lee’s in a unique position where he can leverage his football skills to up his signing bonus. The right-hander is committed to play football at LSU next season and is asking for a bonus of more than $5 million to drop football and concentrate on baseball.
Many wonder if the Dodgers selected Lee knowing that they could not sign him and therefore save money and get a compensatory pick in next year’s draft. The team is going through an ownership divorce between Frank and Jamie McCourt that is indirectly affecting the team’s ability to spend on draft picks and free agents.
Of the Dodgers’ chances of signing Lee, Dodgers assistant GM Logan White said, “I would say I’m cautiously optimistic. … As the summer plays out, you’ll see the effort will be made. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that we’re going to get him to sign. It’s really going to be Zach’s decision.”
Information from Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times was used in this article.
