California

Court Denies Donald Sterling's Appeal to Halt Sale of Clippers

The move was Sterling's last legal maneuver to block the record-breaking team sale

A California appeals court on Wednesday denied Donald Sterling's latest effort to halt the historic $2 billion sale of the LA Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

The Court of Appeal rejected Sterling's petition for emergency relief to unwind the sale of the Clippers because "the sale has closed."

"There is nothing for this court to stay," the ruling read.

"Shelly is thrilled that her decision to sell the Clippers to Steve Ballmer has been upheld by the Court of Appeal," Shelly Sterling's lawyer Pierce O’Donnell said in a statement Wednesday.

The move was Sterling's last legal maneuver to block the record-breaking team purchase negotiated by wife Shelly Sterling, a sale that was officially completed Tuesday.

"While we have no doubt Donald Sterling will appeal to the Supreme Court, we are beyond thrilled and gratified and supremely confident that this is now over and done and Steve Ballmer is the undisputed owner of the Los Angeles Clippers," Ballmer's attorney Adam Streisand said Wednesday.

Shelly Sterling said she was initially given her husband's blessing to sell the team, but Donald Sterling later refused to sign the deal and challenged in court her right to negotiate the sale.

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