Jeanie Buss’s own siblings are telling her she has zero right to stop them from selling their shares in the Los Angeles Lakers. This isn’t some quiet family disagreement, either. In a response filed Wednesday to her August petition, they basically told her, “Jeanie’s argument is at most a meaningless academic exercise.” Yikes.
The Buss Family Civil War Explodes Over $12.5 Billion Deal
Okay, so here’s the deal: Jeanie went to court on August 23, trying to block Johnny, James, Janie, Joey, and Jesse Buss from offloading the family’s remaining 17.8% stake in the Lakers. This all blew up after Mark Walter hammered out a wild $12.5 billion deal with Joshua Kushner for the team. Jeanie’s play? She’s leaning on a 2017 court order that, she says, requires the family to “take all actions reasonably available” to keep her as the team’s governor. She fought for that role as part of Walter’s purchase of the Lakers last year, and she’s holding tight. She’s also arguing that since the Buss stake is held in a family trust, her siblings can’t force the family out, and they definitely can’t sell below that crucial 15% mark, which is the NBA’s magic number for someone to stay team governor. That’s a huge piece of power for her to lose, right?
Her Own Family Claims She’s Violating Her Duty and Costing Them Big
But her siblings? They aren’t backing down one bit. Their response this week basically says the family trust rules are super clear: if two-thirds of them vote to sell, they have the right to divest. And guess what? They say Jeanie has no legal power to stop them. They even argue that 2017 court order? Doesn’t stop them from doing squat. It’s a bold move, accusing their sister of being “driven by her own personal desire to preserve” her leadership roles with the Lakers. They’re dropping bombs, too, claiming she’s violating her fiduciary duty to them by *not* considering the family could pocket a cool $2.2 billion from this sale! Talk about a family dispute that’s got real money on the line. They were blunt, saying “Jeanie’s efforts by the Petition to avoid this inescapable conclusion for her own self-interested reasons are contrary to the Trust Agreement’s express terms, constitute a breach of her fiduciary duties as a trustee, and must be rejected.” Ouch. And just to add another layer of drama, Walter’s whole investment empire is under a federal investigation for faulty disclosures. But hey, this family spat isn’t supposed to mess with the proposed sale to Kushner and Bob Iger. Neither side’s reps were talking Wednesday, so we’re just waiting for the next chapter in this wild Lakers saga.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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