Jeanie Buss files court petition to stop siblings' sale of LA Lakers stake
Jeanie Buss filed a court petition to stop her siblings' attempt to sell the family's remaining shares in the Los Angeles Lakers.
Describing their behavior as "devious," Jeanie Buss claims her siblings Janie Drexel and Joey Buss "brazenly, knowingly and intentionally" breached their fiduciary duties in the family's trust and violated a nearly decade-old court order issued after a previous familial dispute in 2017, according to the filing.
"The devious behavior of the co-trustees, Janie and Joey, as well as James, Johnny, and Jesse, is highlighted by the fact that they never revealed their scheme to Jeanie," her petition states. "Jeanie never agreed to any sale, was never consulted, and was never even informed."
The latest Buss family dispute started just days after former Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner, the founder of venture capital firm Thrive Capital, announced on Aug. 12 their agreement to purchase the Lakers from majority owner Mark Walter for $12.5 billion.
In the petition, Jeanie Buss said she "was blindsided" five days after the announcement, when she learned her siblings conspired to "secretly" sell a portion of the family's 17.82% stake in the franchise to Iger and Kushner.
"We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction," the Buss family said in a statement on Aug. 17. "We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles, but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can."
The proposed deal would effectively oust Jeanie Buss as the controlling owner, also known as the team's governor. The NBA mandates that governors must own a minimum of 15% of the team's shares.
"The fact that the [trust] continues to own its 17.82% stake in the Lakers is no accident," the petition states. "Under the NBA Constitution, Jeanie qualifies to continue to serve as the NBA Controlling Owner and NBA Governor of the Lakers so long as she is the legal owner, either directly or as a trustee, of a minimum of 15% of the issued and outstanding equity interest in the Lakers."
Since the sale would remove Jeanie Buss as the Lakers' governor, her attorneys argued that the proposed sale would violate the 2017 order issued after her brothers James and Johnny Buss tried to oust her as the controlling owner. The attorneys added that Drexel and Joey Buss were appointed as co-trustees of the family's trust following the attempted coup.
The court order requires trustees to "take all actions reasonably available to ensure that Jeanie is appointed and remains as the NBA Controlling Owner of the Lakers," according to Jeanie Buss' attorneys.
"Jeanie thought she had put all of her siblings' scheming and manipulations behind her in 2017," her petition states. "Sadly, that was not the case - and Jeanie must respectfully request relief from this Court a second time."
Jeanie Buss' attorneys said they warned her siblings that the proposed sale would violate the 2017 order and that they knew the family's trust obligates them to "ensure that Jeanie remains as the NBA Controlling Owner."
"In short, Joey and Janie were given fair, detailed, and explicit written notice that their proposed course of action was illegal, void, and in direct contempt of the Court's existing order," the petition states.
On top of voiding the potential sale, the petition seeks to remove Drexel and Joey Buss as co-trustees. It also urges the court to hold her five siblings — Drexel, Joey, James, Johnny and Jesse Buss — in contempt of court.
The petition states that a hearing over the dispute is scheduled for Nov. 5. CBS LA reached out to the attorneys listed for the siblings but has not heard back.
The siblings said they "remain united in that decision" to sell the family's stake in the Lakers in a statement released on Aug. 18, a day after Jeanie Buss announced her intention to legally contest the sale.
"Johnny, Jimmy, Janie, Joey and Jesse have made the decision to sell the family's remaining stake, and we remain united in that decision," the siblings wrote in the statement. "We intend to move forward thoughtfully, respectfully and through the appropriate process."
