Jeanie Buss filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday challenging the legality of her five siblings’ vote to sell the family’s remaining shares in the Los Angeles Lakers, escalating a family dispute that has played out publicly since the announcement of the $12.5 billion Lakers sale to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner.
The filing argues that it is in the best interest of the family trust to retain a stake sufficient to maintain control and to benefit from what was described as the continuously increasing value of the franchise. It also seeks the removal of siblings Janie and Joey Buss as co-trustees of the family trust, alleging they breached their fiduciary duty by voting to sell the family’s shares without Jeanie’s knowledge or agreement.
The filing also notes that two other minority owners with Lakers stakes, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and Ed Roski, have joined her in the decision to retain a stake in the franchise.
The legal argument
The case turns on a 2017 Los Angeles Superior Court order that resolved a previous family dispute, in which older brothers Johnny and Jim Buss had attempted to remove Jeanie from the board of directors controlling the family trust. After that dispute was settled, Joey and Janie Buss were named co-trustees alongside Jeanie, and the court instructed them to vote to ensure Jeanie remained as the Lakers’ controlling owner.
Wednesday’s filing alleges that Janie and Joey knowingly violated that 2017 order by secretly signing a resolution to sell a portion of the family trust’s Lakers stake. The filing describes that resolution as void on its face and says the vote offends the testamentary intent of the family’s founders.
Her lawyer sent a letter last week to lawyers for the five siblings after ESPN reported that they had voted to participate in the tag-along rights attached to majority owner Mark Walter’s sale to Iger and Kushner. The attorney described the vote as devious behavior orchestrated to create a public done deal before Jeanie could respond.
The timing dispute
The filing raises a procedural challenge to the tag-along claim itself. It alleges that Joey Buss signed his vote to sell the family shares one day before ESPN reported that Walter had reached an agreement with Kushner and Iger, and that Walter has not yet officially sent notice of his agreement to sell. Without that official notice, the filing argues, the tag-along rights are not yet applicable.
The five siblings, Johnny, Jimmy, Janie, Joey and Jesse, have maintained that only four of the six siblings and two of the three co-trustees were needed to authorize the sale under the tag-along rights structure.
The family statement dispute
Wednesday’s filing also contests the five siblings’ public statement declaring the sale a unified family decision. She states in the filing that she was blindsided by a published statement attributed to the family, that she never agreed to any sale, was never consulted and was never informed. The filing describes the family characterization as knowingly false.
The filing also disputes a report that Buss called an emergency meeting of the siblings to discuss the Walter sale, saying no such meeting occurred and calling any suggestion that she concealed details about the potential transaction false.
What comes next
The filing opens a second round of litigation between her and her siblings, more than eight years after the 2017 court order resolved the first. The outcome will determine whether the five siblings can proceed with the sale, whether the co-trustee structure gives Jeanie blocking authority over the Lakers sale, and whether Joey and Janie Buss can remain as co-trustees through the proceeding.
The NBA‘s board of governors is expected to vote on the Lakers’ Iger-Kushner acquisition in September. Whether the Buss family legal dispute affects the Lakers’ ownership timeline remains to be seen.
