NBA Commissioner David Stern warned the former owners of Seattle's NBA team it will be "very expensive" if they continue a lawsuit to get the team back from Oklahoma City, new court documents reveal.
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Stern delivered the warning to former owner Howard Schultz in a telephone conversation last month, Schultz said in a sworn statement filed late Thursday in Seattle federal court.
Schultz said the conversation took place June 25, about a week before the city of Seattle and the team’s Oklahoma owners announced they had agreed to settle a separate lawsuit over an arena lease, clearing the way for the team to move to Oklahoma City.
Schultz, chief executive officer of Starbucks Coffee Co., said the team’s Oklahoma owners tried to make their settlement with the city conditional on Schultz dismissing his fraud lawsuit against them, but he refused.
“I instructed my lawyers to inform the city that we could not support the settlement ... because my primary objective was to secure an NBA team in Seattle, and that objective was not adequately insured by that settlement,” Schultz said.
Schultz said he expressed those same concerns to Stern, but received an unsympathetic response.
“I told Commissioner Stern that I did not consider the NBA’s assurances regarding locating a team in Seattle to be strong enough for me to dismiss ... (the) lawsuit,” Schultz said. “In response to that, Commissioner Stern said that the NBA would offer no further assurances in that regard.”
Schultz said Stern also “implied” that he should reconsider his decision not to dismiss his lawsuit.
Asked if Schultz had fairly described their conversation, Stern issued the following statement to The Oklahoman Friday: "We had a friendly conversation at the close of which we both had stated our positions. There were no threats expressed or implied."
Schultz has continued to press forward with his lawsuit, which seeks to void the 2006 sale of the team based on allegations that the Oklahoma buyers fraudulently represented that they would use their best efforts to keep the team in Seattle.
Schultz doesn’t want ownership of the team back. Instead, he wants the judge to establish a constructive trust to search for an “honest buyer” who will keep the team in the Seattle area.
Thursday, Schultz’s lawyers asked the judge to split the trial into two parts — the first to determine liability and the second to deal with remedy.
Determining a remedy would require expensive and time-consuming litigation, Schultz’s attorneys said.
It would all be wasted effort if the judge determines the Oklahoma owners aren’t liable. Splitting the issues could save unneeded expense, Schultz contends.
The team’s Oklahoma owners plan to oppose splitting the trial, said Brad Keller, one of their attorneys.
Dividing the trial “is nothing more than a transparent ploy by Schultz to try to shield from judicial scrutiny the fatal legal deficiencies in the remedies being sought,” Keller said. “Bifurcation would only delay and unduly prolong a lawsuit that never should have been filed. The whole case — all claims — can and should be tried and decided by next June.”
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The Schultz lawsuit is nothing more than holding the NBA hostage for another team. He has admitted as much when saying his goal is to make sure Seattle gets a team. This is nothing more than a showdown between Stern and Schultz. It will end when Schultz is assured of a new team in Seattle.
"I am getting more and more convinced that paul, yukon is really someone from Seattle posing"...and I am getting more and more convinced that a few of you aren't paying attention, like you, Denver. I've named countless places here in okie, stuff inside buildings and the like, that couldn't possibly be known unless one lived in this desolate flyover state.....
I think we can all agree that the OKC team is staying, regardless of the outcome of this trial. I believe all this is about is trying to get the NBA to settle this all by granting Seattle a new team asap.
"...it worked out very well for Bennett and co" No argument there, it certainly has. Bennett and co's net contribution amounts to NOTHING, the taxpayers contribution is approaching a BILLION $$$.
No, 007..you don't know that for sure. What we do know for sure is that Clay made a lowball offer to buy his way out(prior to the trial) and it was rejected. It went to trial and he paid about 40 million above his original offer. What we also know is that at one point , OKC was going to be break even for him, and then he made his wild claims of how much he'd be making here, kind of like talking out both sides of his mouth, depending on his audience and who he was trying to BS.
Not really Nancy...The PBC was going to be out that amount of money if they had stayed the last two years anyway so it worked out very well for Bennett and co
"May not have been a whippin but it dam* sure didn't turn out like they expected it to"...Yeah...I'm sure Clay was saying the exact thing as he was telling his wife to pony up that extra 40 million or so he needed to pay Seattle to make the suit "go away"....
Shooter, the city of Seattle had YEARS to address their facility, and they openly bragged about how the terms of the lease were very beneficial to the city. All of that has been resolved. However, this lawsuit by Shultz will take a couple of weeks to get thrown out. One of the most idiotic lawsuits I've ever seen.
David, Shultz's suit is about breach of contract on Bennett's part. If Shultz wins it will be as if the sale never happened at all. Stern will have to deal with Howard as the legitimate owner at least until a new owner emerges...Steve Balmer.
"just because the team is coming here doesn't mean the Seattle legal group took a "whippin"...City had a large powerful firm going up against something like a 10 attorney firm and ended up settling a case everyone considered a slam dunk going in...May not have been a whippin but it dam* sure didn't turn out like they expected it to
Wow Chris, what is a Starbucks? I thought it was form of city slicker money {star"bucks") not a store. Believe it or not even Paul has a Starbucks over in Yukon.
UH yeah...we have SEVERAL Starbucks here in Oklahoma. And guess what else we have? AN NBA TEAM! You hicks up there in Seattle obviously don't have that! You obviously couldn't support one with YOUR demographics!
Does OKC even have a Starbucks store? I tend to think it would not meet the minimum for demographics and disposable income. Go ahead and boycott...McDonalds has coffee now to go with your dollar menu.
That was a pretty stupid comeback, paul. What I said was true......you left Texass and moved to Oklahoma to work at Tinker. You're just a victim of the Texass public schools that is now dead weight on the public payroll. Guy's like paul are whats wrong with this country.
Hmmm.. I think Howard Schultz has more money David Stern; combined with Howard's buddy Steve Balmer. NBA: $$ Schultz/Seattle: $$$$$ . It would make sense for the NBA just to grant Seattle a franchise in 10 years (some sort of official decleration that if the new arena is built, Seattle will get a franchise by 2018)
"Then seattle and their attorneys took a pretty good whippin." Excuse me..refresh my memory, but how many millions more did Clay have to fork out to bring this issue to a close? What was his original offer and what did he settle for? I think it was a lot if I recall....just because the team is coming here doesn't mean the Seattle legal group took a "whippin"....go back to your 8 dollar an hour job and leave the posting to somebody of intelligence....
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