Frank McCourt: I Won’t Sue Till Bud Makes His Move

Sources connected with Frank McCourt tell TMZ … Frank and his lawyers have decided to sit back and wait … to see who MLB Commissioner Bud Selig chooses to oversee the day-to-day operation of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Our sources say the person Selig picks will not run the operation, but rather will have a VETO over decisions Frank and the rest of the management team make.

As TMZ first reported … Frank’s lawyers are preparing legal documents that would challenge Selig’s move earlier this week — claiming it’s “arbitrary and capricious.”

Our sources say nothing will be filed before Selig names the monitor. We’re told if it’s someone who has been “sympathetic” to the team and Frank, they probably will not challenge the decision — at least not immediately.

If, however, the person Selig chooses is not friendly — or, as it was put to TMZ, “a saboteur” — Frank’s lawyers will go to court immediately.

We’re told Frank and his team have no idea who Selig will select, but some of the names bandied about include Tommy Lasorda, Peter O’Malley and Joe Torre.

News Source: TMZ

L.A. Dodgers Owner: Jamie Never Wanted the Team

Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt claims his wife, Jamie McCourt, diabolically tried to strong-arm him into showing his love by giving her a piece of the team — at the same time she was secretly consulting divorce lawyers.

In Frank’s legal brief, obtained by TMZ, the Dodgers owner maintains his wife signed over her interest in the team, in return for getting sole ownership of more than $100 million in homes.

Frank claims in legal papers Jamie never wanted to buy the Dodgers in the first place.  According to Frank, Jamie felt buying the team in 2004 was a “risky business venture,” because the Dodgers had been losing millions and the deal was insanely leveraged.

Frank says Jamie — a lawyer who has drafted marital agreements herself — was more than happy to sign the marital property agreement that gave Frank the team and gave her all the homes.

But fast forward to 2008 … the Dodgers became profitable while the value of real estate began plummeting.  According to the docs, Jamie came to Frank with a proposal:  “If we’re going to be life partners, we’re going to be business partners.”  Frank says Jamie wanted him to give her half interest in the Dodgers but she would keep most of the homes herself.  Frank smelled a rat and said no.

Frank claims Jamie was stricken with celebrity-itus and wanted a piece of the team, calling it “her ticket to become the mayor of Los Angeles, the Governor of California, and maybe even the President of the United States.  To create the fairytale of ‘Brand Jamie,’ she recognized she had to rewrite history.”

Source: TMZ

L.A. Dodgers Owner: Jamie’s Claim is Ridiculous

Frank McCourt is scoffing at his estranged wife’s claim that he somehow defrauded her by inserting a document into an agreement which strips her of ownership of the L.A. Dodgers.

As TMZ first reported, Jamie claims Frank defrauded her by inserting a bogus document in an agreement — making it seem as though she gave up her 50% ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Frank’s lawyer, Steve Susman, tells TMZ … Jamie McCourt’s claim is absurd.

According to Susman, it’s all an innocent, clerical mistake made by a lawyer named Lawrence Silverstein, the guy who drafted the agreement.  Susman says there were 6 copies of the agreement which intended to give Frank the full ownership of the Dodgers.  But Susman says Silverstein’s secretary mistyped 3 of the Exhibits, which mistakenly said Jamie was retaining her interest in the team.

Susman says shortly after Frank and Jamie signed the agreement, Silverstein realized his mistake and simply put the correct exhibit in the signed agreement, and Frank and his current lawyers didn’t even find out about it until last month.

Susman tells TMZ … Jamie’s claim of fraud is “desperate” and an attempt to use court documents as a press release.

Source: TMZ

L.A. Dodgers Wife: Frank McCourt Committed Fraud

Fired Los Angeles Dodgers CEO Jamie McCourt claims Frank McCourt and his lawyer, Lawrence Silverstein, fraudulently altered documents in an effort to strip her of the ownership of the team … this according to new court documents obtained by TMZ.

Frank claims in 2004, when they bought the Dodgers, Jamie signed over complete ownership of the team to him.  In their bitter divorce case, Frank has submitted an agreement signed by Jamie, which includes an “Exhibit” that gives him complete ownership of the Dodgers.

But in new legal papers filed today by Dennis Wasser, Jamie’s lawyer … Wasser claims there was another “Exhibit” that was the final word on ownership of the Dodgers, which preserved Jamie’s rights to the team.

Wasser now says, after the document was signed, Frank and his lawyer pulled a switcheroo, by substituting the old “Exhibit” for the new one — thereby cutting Jamie out.

Wasser says in his new legal docs … Jamie is the victim of a “fraudulently altered document.”

Source: TMZ

Lawyer Gets Clutch Save at Dodgers Game

The L.A. Dodgers weren’t the only ones who choked on Sunday night — a VIP fan needed help after getting some food stuck in his throat … and he got assistance from the lawyer for the estranged wife of Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.

It all went down in the Dugout Club at Dodger Stadium — the fancy place where all the VIP fans hang out — when a middle-aged man began choking on a “meat product.”

We’re told another man rushed to his aid and began performing the Heimlich Maneuver … and successfully dislodged the meat product.

But our hero wasn’t any ordinary baseball fan — it was Marshall Grossman … the guy repping ousted L.A. Dodgers CEO Jamie McCourt in the bitter divorce that seems to be tearing the team apart.  As a matter of fact, we have no idea how the hell Grossman got on Frank’s turf in the first place … but thank goodness he was there.

After the incident, Marshall told the man he saved, “Next time you have a medical emergency, call a lawyer.”

Source: TMZ

Frank McCourt Antes Up for Jamie

L.A. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has been ordered to pay Jamie McCourt $225,000 in temporary spousal support, and Frank has also been ordered to pay $412,159 a month for the mortgages for the couple’s various properties … TMZ has learned.

Jamie McCourt had asked for nearly a million bucks a month in support, but Judge Scott Gordon shot down her claim for $444,000 in perks — which she called “monthly prerequisites” which she received while she was CEO of the Dodgers .

Frank was ordered to make the payments to Jamie retro to last December … which means he needs to cut a gigantic check.

And get this … Jamie says she’s on the hook for $8.26 million in attorney’s fees and wanted Frank to pay.  Instead, the judge ruled that the couple must sell their Cabo San Lucas home — valued at $6 million — and Jamie can use her half for lawyer’s costs.  The judge wants more info before he decides if Jamie should get more from Frank in the attorney’s fees department.

And the judge said this … the couple has not paid any federal or state income taxes since 2004.

Source: TMZ