Baseball Season Continues for Dodgers in Divorce Court

I have got to blog about something other than Scott Rothstein and what better to redirect my attention then Baseball.

So as Law Blogger Robert Ambrogi points out, “One World Series ended last week but another is just getting started. Yes, the New York Yankees triumphed over the Philadelphia Phillies. But in the Family Division of the Superior Court in Los Angeles, what may prove to be the World Series of divorce cases is only in its opening innings. And one diehard baseball fan and self-described law nerd has launched a blog to help us keep score.”

The divorce at issue is that of Frank and Jamie McCourt. Frank is the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, which he bought in 2004 for $430 million. Jamie is a lawyer who was chief executive officer of the Dodgers until Frank fired her last month. A few days later, on Oct. 27, Jamie filed for divorce. The next day, Oct. 28, Joshua Fisher launched his blog, Dodger Divorce. This is hilarious, isn’t it?

The divorce, after 30 years of marriage, is already proving to be ugly, with Frank accusing Jamie of having had an affair with her driver and of having performed poorly as CEO. For Dodgers fans, however, the central issue in the divorce is proving to be ownership of the team. Frank says he is sole owner while Jamie contends she is a co-owner. And me, as a diehard Blue Dodger fan, all I care about is how will it affect the Dodgers in the offseason. I mean, they need an ace pitcher. A CC Sabathia. A Roy Halladay. That is what kept them out of the World Series the last two seasons, after winning the first round of the playoffs in sweeps against the Cubs and Rockies.

The Los Angeles Times reports there is a legal battle over some pre nups or post nups or whatever. I have no clue about that stuff and would not purport to blog about it. I just know that thirty years ago when my East Las Olas Boulevard office was shot up and I was nearly taken out, all the local media thought it was me- the young, pot smoking hippie lawyer in jeans and a vest that was being targeted. It turned out they wanted the divorce lawyer in the suite next to me. You see, criminal lawyers are civil to each other. Civil lawyers are insane.

Frank's court filings say it was Jamie, "an experienced businesswoman and attorney who actually specialized in the practice of family law for many years," who was the driving force behind a post-nup. "When Frank McCourt acquired the Dodgers in February 2004, the organization was losing tens of millions of dollars every year. Jamie McCourt repeatedly told Frank McCourt and their attorneys that she wanted to protect herself from the financial risks associated with her husband's businesses -- most particularly, the risks associated with ownership of the Dodgers."

As the unofficial umpire of this dispute, Dodger Divorce calls the ownership issue for Frank. "If Frank wins on the post-nup, he probably keeps the Dodgers," Fisher writes. "If Jamie wins, we'll have to wait to see if one has enough money to buy out the other. Based on the very limited information I have in front of me, I like Frank's chances more today than I did yesterday."

I have no clue. I just know the Dodgers need a pitcher, and the same way the World Championship Yankees went out and landed CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett last Fall, and it carried them to the trophy, so too do I know that LA needs to sign Roy Halladay and one more arm. Not to mention a younger third baseman, a new second baseman, and oh, did I mention a new pitcher? So to hell with the divorce. Find me an owner. Get me some players.

See also
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/sports/Divorce-Court-Comes-to-Dodger-Stadium-64486712.html