McCourts fail to settle divorce; no new talks planned

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Frank and Jamie McCourt did not settle their divorce case after a second round of mediation last week with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Lichtman.

The settlement talks extended for about four hours Saturday, according to court spokesman Allan Parachini. No further talks were scheduled, Parachini said.

In the absence of a settlement, Judge Scott Gordon has until Dec. 28 to rule whether Frank is the sole owner of the Dodgers, based on a 2004 agreement between the McCourts. Jamie has asked Gordon to throw out the agreement.

If he does, Frank already has notified the court that he plans to seek a second trial, this one to argue that the Dodgers are his sole property because he bought them using a company he established before the McCourts married.

Victoria Cook, an attorney for Frank, said such a trial could be completed in one day because all the necessary evidence already is in the court record.

Mike Kump, an attorney for Jamie, said such a trial could take up to 60 days and in any case would require the collection of a significant amount of new evidence.

The two sides could resume settlement talks at any time. Dennis Wasser, an attorney for Jamie, said on the final day of trial that his “best guess” was that the parties would settle after Gordon rules.

-- Bill Shaikin and Carla Hall