In what seems like the property division settlement that will never end, Frank McCourt and Jamie McCourt have postponed a hearing scheduled for April 11 regarding the former couple’s ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers opened their season on Thursday against the San Francisco Giants. This will be the second baseball season where ownership of the team is unsettled at its opening.
Under the request of both sides, the April 11 hearing has been rescheduled one month later. Jamie McCourt also requested that Frank McCourt provide detailed information regarding the Dodgers’ business operations. The additional time may provide the parties with the opportunity to close their divorce proceedings which began during the fall of 2009.
In December 2010, a judge did not approve of a settlement agreement that would have given Frank McCourt sole ownership of the Dodgers. When the judge’s decision was made, Jamie McCourt interpreted it as indicating she was half-owner of the ball club. After the judge’s decision, Frank McCourt said he would move forward with a second trial to demonstrate his sole ownership of the team using a different legal argument. Jamie McCourt said she would form an investment company that would offer to purchase her former husband’s ownership stake.
Since that time, neither of the parties has gone forward with their plans. Frank McCourt has not filed any documents for a second trial, and Jamie McCourt has not identified any party willing to buy her ex-husband’s stake in the team. Previously, Jamie McCourt had indicated she would sell her interest in the Dodgers, but she has not acted on any proposed offers. It is not clear how the property division case will conclude.
Source: The Los Angeles Times, “Frank and Jamie McCourt working quietly on a settlement,” Bill Shaikin, 3/29/11