[外電] Owners still fighting in court
Owners still fighting in court
July 6 date might help determine ultimate outcome
By TIM TUCKER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/28/06
Will Steve Belkin take over the Hawks and Thrashers next month?
Or will the teams' seven other owners remain in charge while they
appeal a court's ruling that Belkin is entitled to buy them out
at cost?
A Maryland judge has scheduled a hearing for July 6 to consider
those questions.
Montgomery County (Md.) Circuit Court Judge Eric M. Johnson, who
earlier ruled that Belkin shall buy out the other owners by July
13 because they breached an agreement to buy him out, will hear
arguments on a motion for a stay of the ruling pending appeal.
The motion by the non-Belkin owners asks Johnson to grant a stay
without requiring them to post a bond during the appeal process,
which could last six to 12 months.
Belkin's attorneys have not yet filed a response to the motion
but are expected to ask that, if a stay is granted, the other
owners be required to post a bond to protect Belkin against any
drop in the value of the franchises. The other owners — a group
led by Bruce Levenson, Ed Peskowitz, Michael Gearon Jr. and
Rutherford Seydel — speculated in court papers that Belkin will
seek a bond "in the hundreds of millions of dollars." They didn't
say whether they'd be willing or able to post a bond set that high.
John Lynch, a University of Baltimore law school professor who
co-authored a book on Maryland civil procedure, said a stay "is
probably appropriate if the [appeal] issues are not frivolous."
A more difficult question is the bond, he indicated.
Lynch said that in a typical case where the appellant has been
ordered to pay monetary damages, the appeal bond would be the
amount of the judgment. But in this unique case, where the
appellant has been ordered to sell majority interests in two
major-league sports franchises, Lynch said it's unclear what
size bond, if any, might be appropriate as a condition of a stay.
"The court could order some sort of security as a condition or
could order some sort of behaviors," he said. "There is really
no intelligent basis in the case law ... on which to speculate."
The non-Belkin owners have asked that, in lieu of a bond, the
court attach certain requirements to a stay, one being that no
changes could be made to senior management of the Hawks, Thrashers
and Philips Arena during the appeal process without Belkin's consent.
Adding another entanglement to the ultra-tangled case, approval
by both the NBA and NHL boards of governors is required for any
change in the teams' ownership. Getting approval of an ownership
change that might later have to be undone because of an appeals
court decision could be difficult.
"There is no guarantee that either league will approve a buyout
pending appeal," say court papers filed by the owners seeking the
stay. "Refusal of the two leagues to grant approval has the
potential to spawn further litigation. ... A stay pending appeal
would avoid the potential for flip-flopping ownership of the teams."
Belkin agreed last summer to sell his 30 percent stake in the
teams and arena rights to the other owners for a price to be set
by a series of up to three appraisals. Belkin filed suit in
November when both sides objected to the results of the first
appraisal — commissioned by Belkin — and claimed the right to
retain the second appraiser.
The court ruled that Belkin was entitled to retain the second
appraiser because he objected fastest to the results of the
first. The court later ruled that the other owners breached
their agreement to buy out Belkin by missing deadlines to
seek a third appraisal and to pay Belkin the amount of the second
appraisal (about $140 million). Rejecting the argument that it
was Belkin's litigation that derailed the process, the court
found that the other owners' breach triggered Belkin's right
to become a buyer rather than a seller.
資料來源
http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0628owners.html
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