The sale of the LA Clippers hit another speed bump this week, when Donald Sterling pulled back on a $2 billion deal and vowed to sue the NBA.
But an upcoming trial, scheduled to be held next month, will determine whether the disgraced franchise owner was properly removed as an administrator for the family trust that owns the team.
The four-day trial will begin July 7. The deadline for the sale is July 15, which also is the date the NBA’s owners hope to vote on whether they will approve the sale.
Court filings Wednesday indicated the NBA has set a hard deadline of Sept. 15. If the sale isn’t completed then, the league will undertake proceedings to seize and sell the team on its own.
A probate court judge in Los Angeles Wednesday denied Shelly Sterling’s urgent request to confirm her authority as sole administrator of The Sterling Family Trust so that she can unilaterally proceed with a $2 billion sale of the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Instead, the judge agreed to an expedited hearing because of looming sales deadlines.
But the Sterling saga — and the back-and-forth proceedings — are making everyone restless except Donald Sterling, who is prepared to fight against NBA charges that he ruined the league with racist comments.
“I just want to resolve this as quickly as possible,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told The Associated Press on Wednesday in Miami at an NBA Cares event.
Meanwhile, a former intern of the LA Clippers is suing the Sterlings and the franchise for violating labor laws by not paying its interns.
In a federal class action lawsuit filed Tuesday, former intern Frank Cooper says he was never paid although he worked 40 to 50 hours per week. For two months in 2012, Cooper worked in the NBA team’s fan relations department, where he made calls to season-ticket holders and helped organize basketball clinics.
The lawsuit seeks back pay, damages, and attorney’s fees for Cooper and other Clippers interns, according to his lawyer, Maurice Pianko.
Attorneys for Donald and Shelly Sterling didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
We’ll keep you updated with any new developments in the ongoing Sterling Saga. For more on the upcoming trial, click here.
SOURCE: Huffington Post | VIDEO SOURCE: News Inc.
