U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman will announce her decision in the court case between the Sonics and the city of Seattle at 6 p.m. (Oklahoma time) today. Here are answers to some of the key questions in the trial:
Q: When will the judge announce her ruling?
A: At 6 p.m. central time Wednesday. The judge said she would post the ruling to give everyone access to it at the same time. The Web site is www.wawd.uscourts.gov, which links to City of Seattle v Professional Basketball Club LLC ("Sonics Case”).
Q: What happens if the Sonics' owners win?
A: The owners and their attorneys have declined to comment on this case while it's been in court, so it's impossible to say whether the moving trucks will arrive Wednesday afternoon or what the plan would be.
Paul Lawrence, an attorney for the city, said the city would have "options” for preventing the team from moving immediately, but he didn't specify whether that means he would seek an injunction and file an appeal. He said Howard Schultz, the former owner of the team who is also suing the current owners, would have options related to his lawsuit to keep the team from moving right away.
Seattle Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis said Thursday he didn't want to speculate on whether the city would appeal the case if the Sonics' owners win. Last week, Lawrence said that, if the owners win, the next phase would be deciding what damages the owners would have to pay the city and juries normally decide damages.
Q: What if the Sonics' owners lose?
A: Key parties in the case, including Mayor Greg Nickles and principal team owner Clay Bennett, testified that they wouldn't be nasty to each other if the team is forced to stay and they have to work together. Whether the owners and city might reach a legal settlement that would allow the team to leave early is unknown; neither side has been willing to talk publicly about a settlement since the trial started.
Bennett offered the city $26 million last year to get out of the lease. According to testimony in the trial, that's $15 million more than the city would get if the Sonics stay and make their lease payments at KeyArena.
The judge seemed to indicate on Thursday that the city should have taken the offer — since it would help pay off the bonds issued by the city to renovate the arena in 1994 — but said it wasn't up to her to tell city leaders they were asking for a bad bargain.
Ceis, the deputy mayor, told reporters that if the city wins, it would reach out to the Sonics organization to make sure "they have everything they need to work with us toward a successful season this year.”
By Chris Casteel
