Filed under: MLB Media Watch, FanHouse Exclusive, Sports Business and Media
LOS ANGELES -- In a week of scorching weather and blistering testimony on the witness stand, Frank and Jamie McCourt's divorce trial is now literally at the boiling point - and there are no signs of a cool down in the couple's battle over ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Despite a day-long session with a mediator last Friday, the couple is as far apart as ever on a potential settlement, even as more distasteful details emerged in a case that has already damaged their reputation and raised serious questions about the future of one of baseball's iconic franchises. On Wednesday morning, lawyers for the estranged spouses will give their closing arguments in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Barring a settlement, control of the Dodgers will be determined by Judge Scott Gordon, who will have until late December to decide if the Dodgers should be Frank's separate property or should be owned equally by both McCourts. At the center of the dispute is couple's marital property agreement, which was signed shortly after the McCourts purchased the club in 2004 from News Corp. for $430 million. Frank believes the MPA makes him the sole owner of the Dodgers in the event of a divorce, while Jamie contends that it should be invalidated because the couple signed two conflicting versions of the document.
The McCourts' former lawyer in Boston, Larry Silverstein, has already testified that he doctored a signed and notarized version of the agreement that made the team "community property," and inserted a page containing a clause that gave Frank sole control of the Dodgers.
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