The fact that Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers are having a lackluster season despite a hefty $95.4 million team payroll (10th highest in the league according to ESPN), the biggest liability for the team is the ugly divorce of its co-owners, Jamie and Frank McCourt.
While we've been hearing accusations and insults from either side for a while now, USA Today and other major news sources reported that the McCourt divorce is just now underway. The stakes are high, since both parties claim ownership of the storied baseball franchise.
The Dodgers franchise has been valued at anywhere from $750 million to $1.5 billion, a fortune unheard of to most Atlanta divorce lawyers with respect to marital property.
Just the legal fees alone are estimated to approach the $20 million mark, which is prompting some observers to predict a fire sale of the team by its eventual sole owner. The "victor," they say, may not have enough money left to properly maintain the Dodgers as a viable business and may have to sell to deeper-pocketed suitors.
James Fox Miller, part of Jamie McCourt's legal team, admitted it's really difficult to predict how this will play out. But he maintains his client's legal stake in the team:
"If justice prevails, Jamie McCourt will win. It should be equal partnership, and I think Frank is trying to deprive her of one-half of the partnership."
In fact, this trial is centered squarely on whether Jamie McCourt has a legal claim to half of the team's assets. Frank McCourt's attorneys have argued that a postnuptial agreement signed by both parties in 2004 grants sole ownership of the team to him.
While Jamie McCourt's lawyers claim their marital agreement lists the Dodgers as jointly owned property, Frank McCourt's side argues that it was a clerical error.
Contact a Georgia family law attorney if you have a property dispute with a soon-to-be ex-spouse.
Related Resources:
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Factors Considered in Dividing Property (FindLaw)
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Call an Atlanta Family Law Attorney (FindLaw)
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The McCourt Divorce, the Dodgers and Marital Assets (FindLaw's Law & Daily Life Blog)
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