Swing and a Miss
Get ready for some hardball, baseball fans
By JONATHAN LLOYD
Updated 4:36 PM PST, Thu, Nov 5, 2009
A court commissioner denied Jamie McCourt's motion Thursday that she should be reinstated as chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Jamie McCourt was fired last month by her husband, Frank. Jamie McCourt also said the Dodgers are community property, but the judge didn't rule on that issue.
The McCourts did not appear Thursday in court. Attorneys filed the motion for Jamie McCourt.
The result wasn't a surprise.
"You can't have two executives mud wrestling in the executive suite," said NBCLA legal analyst Royal Oakes. "Don't force them to go back into the company. You can't run a railroad that way.
"The judge might say, 'You may sue for a jillion dollars but I can't put you back into the executive seat.'"
Both McCourts filed divorce petitions in Los Angeles Superior Court last week citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split. That set the stage for what could become one of the most closely scrutinized marital splits in recent memory.
As part of her court filing, attorneys for Jamie McCourt asked Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon to reinstate her as Dodgers CEO. Gordon said last week he needed more time to review the request.
Gordon is a former Santa Monica police officer and prosecutor. We're told he has a view of Dodger Stadium from his office.
The McCourts have been married since November 1979 and have four grown sons. The couple separated July 6.
"This lady eats, lives and breathes the Dodgers," said Dennis Wasser, an attorney for Jamie McCourt. "It is the most important thing in her life besides her children."
News of their separation broke last month as the Dodgers were preparing to take on the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series. The day after the Phillies eliminated the Dodgers from the playoffs, Frank McCourt fired his estranged wife.
In her divorce petition, Jamie McCourt not only demands her CEO job back, but also maintains she has partial ownership of the Dodgers. She is seeking $321,000 a month in spousal support if reinstated to her former position, or $488,000 per month if she is not.
Jamie McCourt's court papers state the divorcing duo are "among the wealthiest residents of Southern California, with an estimated worth in excess of $1.2 billion."
The couple bought the Dodgers in 2004 and the team is now worth about $800 million, according to Jamie McCourt's petition.
Wasser said Gordon will not likely not rule until some time next year on who owns the Dodgers. Wasser maintains both McCourts are the team landlords and said Jamie McCourt maintains an "ancillary" role with the team.
Michael Kump, another Jamie McCourt lawyer, said his client wanted to remain in her position until Gordon decides during a Dec. 15 hearing whether a post-nuptial agreement between the parties is valid.
Frank McCourt maintains the accord gave him sole ownership of the Dodgers and that his estranged wife assented to that point, but Kump said nothing should change in Dodger management until the validity of the agreement is ruled upon.
"This is not about reinstatement, but about wanting to maintain the status quo," Kump said.
Manley Fried, an attorney for Frank McCourt, said he does not expect Gordon to alter today's decision next month.
"When the matter comes up again, we expect the results will be the same," Fried said.
In another ruling, Gordon said the Dodger organization can no longer participate in the divorce proceedings because it lacked standing. Lawyers for the Dodgers favored Frank McCourt's position in the case.
Marshall Grossman, a Dodger lawyer, echoed Frank McCourt's lawyers when he said it would be disruptive to have Jamie McCourt back on board, given that she and her estranged spouse have different philosophies about running the team.
Despite the ongoing tension between the McCourts, Grossman said it is "business as usual" at the team level.
Frank McCourt countered in a more than 600-page court filing that he is the sole owner of the team. His attorneys contend that Jamie McCourt often failed to show up for work and then had an affair with her driver and billed the Dodgers for a trip she took with him to Europe.
Jamie McCourt's attorney, Bert Fields, told the Los Angeles Times that his client was dating her driver, Jeff Fuller, but insisted the relationship began after the McCourts separated in July. Fields also denied that Jamie McCourt billed the team for the trip to Europe.
Copyright City News Service / NBC Los Angeles
First Published: Nov 5, 2009 6:44 AM PST
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