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Baseball and Delaware Law Part II

2012

In my last article titled Baseball and Delaware Law we discussed the Los Angeles Dodgers and their owner Frank McCourt’s troubles. In this next article we discuss the latest developments between Major League Baseball and The Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.

On October 25, 2011 in an article on espn.com, “Major League Baseball claimed that the Dodgers owner Frank McCourt took nearly $190 million from the team in what a court filing termed “looting.”

In filings in Delaware Court, MLB said McCourt took $189.16 from the club — $73 million in parking lot revenue through a separate company, $61.16 million to pay personal debts, and $55 million for personal distributions, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing documents.

MLB and Frank McCourt were headed toward a showdown in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware at the end of November. However, on November 1, 2011 espn.com reported that Frank McCourt and MLB reached an agreement to sell the Los Angeles Dodgers along with Dodger Stadium and the surrounding real estate. The decision not only brings to end a six-month legal battle with baseball commissioner Bud Selig, but, ends McCourt’s seven and one-half year ownership of the team.

McCourt ultimately realized that selling the Dodgers was in his best interest and that of the fans. As previously written in my first article Frank McCourt purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004 for $430 million. Based on various media reports from espn.com, the team is expected to sell for somewhere between $800 million and $1.2 billion this time.