Jeanie Buss is not going quietly into that good night.
While Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Monday that the Buss family would be selling its remaining 17.8% stake in the Lakers, it doesn’t appear that was a unanimous decision.
Alex Sherman of CNBC obtained a letter sent to the law firms of the Buss siblings not named Jeanie indicating she considers the sale “void.” Here is a snippet of what Adam Streisand, Jeanie’s lawyer, says in the letter.
“No sale of the JAB Trust’s 17.8% ownership interest
in the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. can be effectuated without approval by the current co-trustees, i.e., Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss. Pursuant to the JAB Trust and the attached Court Order, the co-trustees are bound to vote the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. shares to ensure that the minimum 15% ownership requirement is maintained in order to ensure that Jeanie Buss may remain Controlling Owner,” Streisand says in the letter.
“Any attempt by the co-trustees to do otherwise, and any attempt to aid or abet the co-trustees as such, would constitute a breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and be in contempt of court,” he says.
Sam Amick of The Athletic also received a letter from Streisand with the same argument made.
I won’t pretend to be a lawyer or know the ins and outs of the legalities of this situation. It’s not a surprise Jeanie isn’t going down without a fight, even if it’s also going to make this particularly messy.
Her stance appears to be built around the fact that she’s a co-trustee of the family trust and wants to remain the governor of the franchise. As an outsider looking in, it looks like sour grapes and her fighting to the very end, but, again, we don’t know much as outsiders.
What isn’t up for debate is how apropo this is for Jeanie and the family. For over a decade, the family has been constant drama. This is a fitting way for it all to come to an end…if this is the end.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
