The ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers is once again the subject of a court battle among the Buss siblings, as Jeanie Buss has filed a new petition to prevent the sale of the family’s remaining stake in the team. This legal action, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court this week, seeks to stop her five siblings from divesting their shares and also asks two of them to explain why they should not be held in contempt of court.
For Jeanie Buss, it’s a familiar fight. The petition itself notes, "It’s like déjà vu all over again,” referring to a similar dispute in 2017. Her latest filing aims to enforce her parents’ original intent for the Jo Ann 2006 (Electing Small Business Trust).
ESPN reported on August 17 that the six Buss siblings had voted to sell the family’s remaining 17.8% ownership of the Lakers to new majority owners Bob Iger and Josh Kushner. The Buss family issued a statement to ESPN, explaining that they had decided as a family to sell the shares as "it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can."
Such a sale could fundamentally alter Jeanie Buss's role. She has served as the team’s governor since 2013, a position she took after her father, Jerry Buss, passed away. The NBA Constitution requires a minimum of 15% ownership to hold this position. While Jeanie Buss would no longer directly hold that stake after the proposed sale, her attorneys assert that she qualifies to continue as controlling owner and governor as long as she is the legal owner, directly or as a trustee, of at least 15% of the team's equity.
The current petition alleges that siblings Janie and Joey Buss "brazenly, knowingly and intentionally violated a 2017 order" and the trust's provisions. They are accused of secretly signing a resolution to sell a portion of the trust’s 17.82% stake. This purported resolution, according to the petition, "flies in the face of the 2017 order as it would disqualify Jeanie from serving as the NBA controlling owner of the Lakers."
Jeanie Buss is asking a judge to declare this resolution void and to remove Janie and Joey Buss as trustees, claiming they put their own interests before others. She also seeks to have them explain why they shouldn't face contempt of court charges for allegedly violating the 2017 order. The family trust was initially established by Jerry Buss, the team's long-time owner.
