David Boies: Frank McCourt could have to sell Dodgers

David Boies, an attorney for Jamie McCourt, said Tuesday that Frank McCourt might have no other choice than to sell the Dodgers in order to reach a divorce settlement.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon on Tuesday threw out a marital agreement that would have provided Frank with sole ownership of the team. Boies said he hoped Frank now would agree to a settlement in which he would pay Jamie half the worth of their marital estate, as valued by Jamie.

"I think the only way he could do that is to sell the Dodgers, either to her or to somebody else," Boies said.

Boies said he hoped to renew settlement talks as soon as this week. If those talks fail, Boies said, Jamie could announce that she and other investors would be willing to buy out Frank's share of the Dodgers.

"In the absence of a negotiated settlement, you could reasonably expect some kind of offer would be a realistic possibility," Boies said.

Frank would not be obligated to accept. His lawyers said Tuesday that he would ask for another trial, this one to establish the Dodgers as his sole property on grounds independent of the invalidated agreement.

"I would have hoped, having lost, they would be realistic," Boies said. "It sounds like they just want to continue the litigation. ...

"If they will come to the bargaining table accepting the reality that Jamie is entitled to 50% of the marital estate, we will reach an agreement. This is litigation that is bad for the two parties, for the family, for Los Angeles, for the Dodgers and for Dodger fans. She would like to see this resolved, but she is not going to be intimidated by the threat of litigation."

Boies said -- and Frank's lawyers have disputed -- that the team now should be considered community property, pending further legal proceedings. However, Boies said Jamie has no plans to try to involve herself in the day-to-day operations of the Dodgers.

"We'd like to work this out so it has the least disruption possible for the Dodgers," Boies said. "Obviously, she wants to make sure that Frank doesn't do something that prejudices her rights or prejudices the value of the Dodgers."

In particular, Boies said, Jamie does not plan to demand approval rights for major team expenditures, including player contracts.

"We don't want to put out any ultimatums," Boies said. "We'd like not to escalate things. We'd like to try and work things out."

-- Bill Shaikin and Carla Hall

Comments

[grumpy3b]

how come nobody is arguing over who owns the LA Marathon? :p

Doesn't this ruling then also mean the homes are also community property? Can't wait to see the rat's nest of where the funds came from to pay for those homes...as I recall reading it was from a loan maybe against future ticket sales or something along those lines.

It's going to get really fun to watch soon...of course neither of these two will be forced to skip a meal or twenty every week as a result, you know like any of the us human beings would...

[willb3]

If I was earning 637 thousand per month, I would not want to pursue running the day to day operations of the Dodgers myself..Lol what a wonderful life she has..swimming in Malibu and having "relations" with her body guard..

[Steve]

Yeah, good luck with that. Frank will defend his ownership in the Dodgers to the bitter end, and never give in to Jamie. "Reasonable" and "for the good of the Dodgers" don't even enter into the equation. The only reasonable expectation is many more years of litigation.

[dcdodgersfan]

What a freaking mess.

[patrickhenrypress]

He is an excellent attorney. Frank is deliberately dragging his feet to the detriment of the Dodgers.

Welcome to California, a community property state. All of this litigation is making attorneys richer than they already are. Sell it, Frank. Sell it to her or sell it to God - just sell the team and let L.A. heal.

And this is coming from a Giants fan who has been to many games at Chavez Ravine. You folks don't deserve this. Sell your half of the team, Frank, and let's get back to where we were. Baseball rivalry - not courtroom blather. You lost. She won. Sell the team, already!

Hey. Cheer up. MLB might let you own another team in need of being fleeced by its parking lot attendant!

[Kevin S]

Let's not forget that if she has 50% stake in the team he also has 50% stake in all the houses and other property or assets that were purchased from robbing and raping the Dodger organization. So he does have some more bargaining power.

[nedisfrankspuppet]

Be prepared for an onslaught of daily musings in the battle of the McCraps for Dodger ownership supremacy.

Question: Does Frank at least get his share of the Mc Mansions back?

[16blows]

Game, set, match - Jaime!

[Shutomei]

Sell the team. As a Giants fan, I don't even want to go near Chavez Ravine to give the McCourts any money. As much as I hate the Dodgers, their beach ball tossing fan base doesn't deserve this.

[Joe]

Sell the team Frank! It's in your best interest. You already made money off of it. Go back to Boston and no one will care that you tainted a storied franchise with your greed. There must be other parking lots you could purchase out there. Get out of L.A. and take your spoiled children with you.

[Cokomo]

Can we put a tent over this flippin circus? Frank get a ham sandwich and a road map...your DONE! Please BUD SELIG put PRESSURE to bring REAL OWNERSHIP to LOS ANGELES and get these loser outta here!!!. Peter O'Malley are you listening... WE NEED YOU.

[Dodger Tony]

First off, I am absolutely thrilled beyond words at this decision. It was the right decision, the ONLY decision, based on California transmutation law. This should have been obvious to anyone without even a modest legal background. Second, the outrage I have for Frank McCourt at this moment is off the charts for the amount of money he spent, money that no doubt could have been used quite differently, to enforce an MPA that HE asserted made him sole owner of the team, in defiance of 852, which he surely must have been advised was dubious to begin with. In this Shakespearian travail, it was Frank's hubris that brought his Dodger house down. I do not think he has the stomach to continue this charade. I also find it laughable to think that this could lay the "real" foundation for a settlement that would mutually benefit the McCourt brood. These two people hate each other, their blood running cold like the best served dish.

Whatever time table it takes to divvy up their affairs, a sale is imminent. Whether it is now or a year or more, I for one can breathe a sigh of relief that their tenure has begun to look its last.

[OldBrooklynFan]

This thing looks like it's getting more interesting by the day. I for one have no comment and will just be an innocent bystander. It's a lot better for me than it was 53 years ago. It could never get any worse.

[A Scanner Darkly]

McCourt won't sell until franchise value is exponentially increased with the development of a regional TV Dodger network. He's contractually kept from implementing this until 2012-13, I believe.