Jeanie Buss might not be done as the Los Angeles Lakers’ team governor.
Not long after it was reported that the Buss family intended to sell its portion of the franchise — a move that would lead to Jeanie’s ouster as team governor — her lawyers deemed the reported vote void. In a letter sent to her siblings’ attorneys and obtained by The Athletic, that strategy constituted “a breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty” and would put them “in contempt of court.”
The latest battle between Buss siblings comes in the wake of Mark Walter’s stunning decision to sell the Lakers to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and billionaire venture capitalist Josh Kushner for a reported $12.5 billion valuation. If the sale is approved by the league’s Board of Governors, it would be the richest in professional sports history.
The move opened the door for the Buss family to potentially sell their shares (worth approximately 17.8 percent of the business), but the parties clearly disagree on what it would take for that to happen. As was widely reported Monday, the siblings who voted to sell the family’s shares assert that four of the six beneficiaries of the Buss trust were needed for a passing vote. Yet Jeanie’s attorney, Adam Streisand of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton Law, argued in the letter sent to her siblings’ attorneys that two previous legal rulings render that strategy improper.
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“No sale of the … 17.8% ownership interest in the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. can be effectuated without approval by the current co-trustees, i.e., Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss,” the letter reads. “The co-trustees are bound to vote the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. shares to ensure that the minimum 15% ownership requirement is maintained in order to ensure that Jeanie Buss may remain Controlling Owner. Any attempt by the co-trustees to do otherwise, and any attempt to aid or abet the co-trustees as such, would constitute a breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and be in contempt of court.”
The letter cites a 2017 order from the Los Angeles Superior Court obtained by Jeanie Buss as part of its argument, indicating this course of action is prohibited.
“The Court ordered, among other things, as follows: ‘The Co-trustees of the Trust are hereby instructed to take all actions reasonably available to them, including voting the Trust’s shares, to ensure that (Jeanie Buss) is elected as the Controlling Owner of the Lakers on an annual basis during (Jeanie Buss’) lifetime absent a further order of this Court modifying the Trust based upon proof of circumstances justifying the modification under applicable law.’
“The Order remains in full force and effect,” the letter continues. “There has never been a modification of the Trust. No effort has ever been made to justify to the Court that there are circumstances for modifying the Trust, and there are no circumstances that could be proven to justify any modification.”
As The Athletic first reported last summer, Jeanie’s agreement with the Walter Group stipulated that she would remain the team’s governor for at least five years. Yet the sale to Iger and Kushner called that understanding into question. Iger told The California Post last week that he intended to honor the deal, before qualifying his statement.
“If things change, they’ll change,” he said.