Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling failed in court Monday to stop the sale of his team to former Microsoft CEO Steven Ballmer, according to CBS News. Ballmer has offered $2 billion for the franchise, which was for years second fiddle to the Lakers in LA, but which has enjoyed a recent resurgence. The NBA banned Sterling from the league after comments he allegedly made that were perceived as racist. Donald Sterling’s wife Shelly Sterling, who owns half of the franchise, was eager to sell and negotiated with Ballmer, cutting her husband out of the negotiations with a claim that he was incompetent. Donald Sterling, who is 80, claims his wife tricked him.
But the decision for Shelly Sterling by Superior Court Judge Michael Levanas may not withstand an appeal by Donald Sterling’s extremely well-paid lawyers. Maxwell Blecher of Blecher Collins will attempt to appeal the decision, hoping a higher court will see things differently. Mr. Blecher is in familiar territory, having previously won a complex case against the National Football League. Donald Sterling’s $9 billion suit against the NBA is still active. He plans to fight it until the day he dies, he has said.
