[外電] Belkin, Spirit team feuding again
Belkin, Spirit team feuding again
Ex-Hawks, Thrashers partner suing over appraisal of his stakes up for sale
By TIM TUCKER , BOB KEMPER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/07/06
Here we go again.
The bitter battle within the Hawks and Thrashers ownership group appeared to
end in August, when Steve Belkin agreed to sell his stake in the teams to his
partners. But now the feuding owners are back in court, this time battling
over terms of their still-pending divorce.
Belkin, who took his partners to court in Massachusetts during the summer,
has filed a new lawsuit against them in Maryland, alleging "a concerted
campaign . . . to pay him substantially less than fair market value" for
his stake in the teams.
The August agreement called for the price of Belkin's 30 percent interest to
be determined by a series of independent appraisals. The new lawsuit centers
around a dispute over those appraisals and contends Belkin should have the
right to buy a controlling interest in the teams, rather than to sell, if
his co-owners don't complete the buyout by mid-February.
Asked Friday if there's a chance Belkin winds up buying out his partners,
rather than vice versa, co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. said: "There is no
chance, period."
Belkin responded to requests for comment with an e-mail: "Sorry but I am not
giving any comments at this time about the lawsuit."
The co-owners named as defendants in the suit — Bruce Levenson, Ed Peskowitz,
Gearon and Rutherford Seydel — have not yet submitted their answer to the
latest legal salvo, which was filed this week in Montgomery County Circuit
Court in Rockville, Md.
The case has been assigned to Judge Eric Johnson, who held a conference with
lawyers in his chambers on Friday. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 24.
"We do not think it appropriate to respond in the media to Steve Belkin's
version of events as characterized in his latest legal action," Levenson said.
"We will file an answer and are confident justice will be served in the court
in Maryland, just as it was ultimately served in a Boston courtroom in August."
In that highly publicized case, a judge ultimately allowed Belkin's partners
to replace him as the Hawks' NBA governor, clearing the way for a controversial
trade that Belkin had opposed for guard Joe Johnson. Belkin then agreed to sell
his stake in the teams to his partners for a price to be set by up to three
appraisals.
Belkin's new lawsuit contends the first appraisal — conducted by a firm of his
choosing, The Citigroup Private Bank, and completed on Nov. 23 — was "grossly
undervalued" because of interference by his co-owners. The lawsuit claims
Levenson, Peskowitz and Gearon "threatened and harassed" the bank and provided
"false and misleading information."
After objecting to the first appraisal, Belkin retained J. P. Morgan Securities
to perform a second appraisal, which was completed Dec. 17, according to the
lawsuit. His partners refuse to recognize this apparently higher appraisal,
contending they -– not Belkin –- were entitled to select the second
appraiser.
Under the August agreement, if the first two appraisals did not lead to an
agreement on price, a third appraisal was to be conducted by an investment
bank chosen in a drawing by the NBA. Belkin's lawsuit contends the deadline
for hiring a third appraiser passed on Dec. 30 and that the Dec. 17 appraisal
should stand.
The court documents do not disclose the value put on the franchises and Philips
Arena operating rights by either appraisal conducted thus far.
However, Belkin's most recent court filing discloses that he estimated the
value of the three assets at $500 million in August. When Time Warner sold
the teams and arena rights in 2003, it valued the deal at $250 million.
The latest legal battle is being waged in Maryland because the August buyout
agreement stipulated any disputes would be litigated there. Levenson and
Peskowitz own a business information company based in Rockville, Md.
Belkin began this round of the legal war with a complaint filed on Nov. 22.
His partners answered on Dec. 14, saying that the first appraisal was
"breathtakingly generous" by a firm "handpicked" by Belkin and that Belkin
"now seeks to . . . hijack the appraisal process" and take "sole authority"
for selecting the appraisers.
In the December filing, the defendants denied Belkin's allegation that they
"threatened, harassed or otherwise sought to unfairly influence" Citigroup's
appraisal. "In fact . . . it was Belkin that sought unfairly to influence
Citigroup's appraisal," the defendants said.
Belkin filed his most recent, amended complaint on Wednesday.
It asks the court to find that the Dec. 17 appraisal is binding, that the
defendants have 60 days from that date to complete the purchase of Belkin's
stake and that, if they fail to do so, they be required to sell out to him
for an amount equal to their "aggregate contributed capital" in the venture.
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