Conflictual twist hits Jeanie Buss’, siblings’ court hearing over Lakers sale

The initial court hearing as part of Lakers Governor Jeanie Buss’ petition to stop her siblings from selling the family’s ownership shares of the Lakers has been rescheduled. 

Jeanie Buss’ attorney, Adam Streisand, filed a continuation (postponement) in her petition in Los Angeles Superior Court after the hearing was initially scheduled for Nov. 5.

The continuation request was granted, with the hearing being rescheduled for Dec. 8. 

Streisand, Buss’ lead counsel, requested the continuation because he’s scheduled to be in Europe for two speaking engagements and isn’t returning to Los Angeles until Nov 18.

Buss originally filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court last week looking to block her siblings’ attempted sale of their minority ownership stake of the franchise. 

Five of the Buss siblings who are part of the Buss family trust — Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss — voted to sell the rest of the family’s 17.8% ownership stake of the Lakers to soon-to-be majority owners Josh Kushner and Bob Iger.

Kushner and Iger agreed to purchase the majority shares of the Lakers from Mark Walter for a valuation of $12.5 billion, less than a year after Walter bought the Lakers from the Buss family at a valuation of $10 billion. 

Jeanie Buss called her siblings’ behavior “devious” in the 97-page petition, which was obtained by the California Post. The petition stated Jeanie was “blinded” by the attempted sale and that the family’s statement provided to ESPN was “knowingly false: Jeanie never agreed to any sale, was never consulted, and was never even informed.”

“Jeanie thought she had put all of her siblings’ scheming and manipulations behind her in 2017,” the petition stated. “Sadly, that was not the case — and Jeanie must respectfully request relief from this Court a second time.”

The petition includes five orders:

1. Instructing trustees to comply with 2017 court order; 

2. Declaring purported trustee resolution void;

3. Surcharging and removing co-trustees Joey H. Buss and Janie M. Buss for breach of fiduciary duty;

4. Holding Joey H. Buss and Janie M. Buss in contempt of court; 

5. Holding James, Johnny and Jesse Buss in contempt and liable for aiding and abetting.

Jeanie Buss, the third-oldest child of the late Dr. Jerry Buss, first made it clear she opposed her siblings’ vote to sell the family’s share of the Lakers, according to a letter from Streisand that was obtained by The Post, arguing her siblings can’t legally execute a sale without her approval and that any vote of the Buss family selling would be “void.”

To remain the Lakers governor, Jeanie or the Buss family would need to maintain control of at least 15% of the franchise, per NBA rules.

Jeanie has been team’s governor since 2013 after Jerry’s death.

When Walter purchased the majority ownership of the Lakers from the Buss family, the league announced that Buss would remain the team’s governor for at least five years (through 2030).

Iger told The Post he and Kushner intended to honor the agreement made between Walter and Buss. 

Streisand’s original letter to lawyers for the other siblings demanded that they retract the announcement of the proposed sale, insisting that rules of the family trust and a 2017 court ruling make clear that Jeanie Buss will remain a controlling owner of the team.

Jeanie Buss argued her attempting to stop her siblings’ sale of the Lakers, which would prevent her from continuing as the franchise’s governor, is not only a way to “enforce her parents’ intent” but also “protect the strategic decision by the trustees less than a year ago to sell a portion of the team and retain an interest sufficient to maintain control and to benefit from the continuously skyrocketing value.”

The petition also states that other minority owners support Jeanie Buss staying as governor.