One-Up: Donald Sterling Files $1 Billion Lawsuit Against NBA; Sues His Wife & Others

He may be an accused racist, but Donald Sterling is no dummy.

Sterling, the sole owner and shareholder of the LA Clippers organization, has filed a billion dollar lawsuit against the NBA. The suit, which was filed this week in Superior Court, argues that a violation of corporate law was committed when the NBA, his wife, and the LAC Basketball Club attempted to sell the franchise to ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. As the sole owner of the LAC Basketball Club, Sterling says that his wife had no say-so in the sale.

“The new lawsuit states the seller of the team is not Donald and it’s not Shelly — the seller of the team is corporation that owns the team, and that’s LAC Basketball Club Inc.,” Donald Sterling attorney Bobby Samini said Tuesday. “When Donald bought the team, the shares of the corporation are only in Donald’s name. They were only issued to Donald, so Donald owns the shares of the corporation. He’s the sole shareholder. He put the shares up into the trust in 1989, and when we revoked the trust, the shares go back down to him.”

 

“He’s worth more than $2.5 billion without the team,” Samini said. “If he was greedy, he would take the money and run. It’s not about the money. It’s not even about wanting the team. It’s showing everybody: If I have a conversation in my living room that’s inappropriate, that’s not a good thing. I shouldn’t be awarded the man of the year award, but at the same time, my private conversation, and on top of that my medical records, shouldn’t be OK to release that to the world and use that to hang me with.”

Commissioner Adam Silver is also named in the lawsuit. It is estimated to take a year before the lawsuit sees a trial.

Source