Judge dismisses Sterling's antitrust suit vs. NBA
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge has dismissed a $600 million antitrust lawsuit filed by former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling against the NBA and his wife Shelly Sterling.
In the Tuesday order, U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin said he was “skeptical Sterling suffered any injury at all, let alone an antitrust injury” by the sale of the team for $2 billion to ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and called other parts of the lawsuit implausible.
Donald Sterling, 81, had claimed in the lawsuit that he could have gotten more than that for the team but the circumstances of the sale “markedly reduced” the price.
Shelly Sterling’s attorney Pierce O’Donnell said in a statement that the dismissal “puts a merciful end to his quixotic litigation campaign over the sale for the record-shattering price of $2 billion.”
O’Donnell added that, “Ironically, Donald, in defeat, is the beneficiary of $2 billion, secured by Shelley in her courageous battle in doing the right thing to protect her family and ensure that her beloved team would be sold to a conscientious owner who would take the team to the next level of excellence.”
Donald Sterling’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling from the league for life in 2014 and fined him $2.5 million over recorded racist remarks that he made to a friend.
The dismissed lawsuit had also named Silver, his predecessor as commissioner David Stern, and two doctors who examined Donald Sterling and determined that he had symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, leading his wife to remove him from a family trust that owned the Clippers at the time.
Earlier this month, Sterling and long-estranged wife Shelly decided to remain in their marriage of 60 years, backing out of a divorce he had filed for in August.
