Lakers Family Feud: Jeanie Buss Fights Siblings Over Team Shares!
Jeanie Buss, the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, is challenging her siblings' vote to sell the family's remaining shares in the NBA franchise. She argues the sale violates a 2017 court order and is seeking to remove two siblings as co-trustees, alleging a breach of fiduciary duty. This legal battle represents a renewed struggle for control over the Lakers within the Buss family.
Los Angeles Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss has initiated a legal challenge against the decision made by her five siblings to sell the family's remaining shares in the franchise. In a petition filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Buss argues that it is in the best interest of the family trust to maintain an interest sufficient for control and to benefit from the continuous increase in the team's value. She is also seeking the removal of her siblings, Janie and Joey Buss, as co-trustees of the family trust, alleging they breached their fiduciary duty.
This dispute stems from reports that Buss's siblings voted to exercise tag-along rights as part of majority owner Mark Walter's reported sale of his stake to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, valuing the franchise at $12.5 billion. Buss's lawyer, Adam Streisand, labeled the siblings' vote as "devious behavior" and a "calculated effort to create a public fait accompli" before Jeanie Buss could respond. Streisand noted that Lakers minority owners Dr. Patrick Soon Shiong and Ed Roski support Jeanie Buss's decision to retain a stake.
The legal filing contends that Joey Buss signed his vote to sell the shares a day before ESPN reported Walter's agreement with Kushner and Iger, and that Walter has not officially sent notice of his agreement to sell, implying the tag-along rights are not yet applicable. The filing opens with the quote, "In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, 'It's like déjà vu all over again,'" highlighting a recurring pattern of conflict within the family regarding franchise control.
The current situation echoes a 2017 court order that resolved a previous takeover attempt by older brothers Johnny and Jim Buss to remove Jeanie Buss as head of the board controlling the family trust. Following that order, Janie and Joey Buss were appointed co-trustees alongside Jeanie Buss and were specifically instructed by the court to vote in a manner that would ensure Jeanie Buss remained the controlling owner of the team. Wednesday's filing alleges that Janie and Joey have "brazenly, knowingly and intentionally violated the 2017 Order by secretly signing a purported resolution -- void on its face -- to sell a portion of the Lakers shares held by the family trust."
Furthermore, the petition asserts that the resolution "offends the testamentary intent and very legacy that Dr. Buss and Jo Ann entrusted the Buss siblings to protect." Jeanie Buss claims she was "blindsided by an alleged statement of the 'family' published by ESPN" declaring the family's decision to sell, stating she never agreed, was never consulted, and was never informed. Despite Streisand's initial letter, the five siblings issued a second statement confirming their collective decision to sell the family's remaining stake and their intent to proceed "thoughtfully, respectfully and through the appropriate process."
The court filing also refutes a report by ESPN's Dave McMenamin about an emergency meeting of the Buss siblings, stating, "In truth there was no emergency meeting, indeed, there was no meeting at all." It also denies any suggestion that Jeanie Buss concealed details about the potential Walter sale. The filing concludes by expressing Jeanie Buss's disappointment, believing she had resolved her siblings' "scheming and manipulations" in 2017, and her unfortunate need to seek court intervention a second time.