The Los Angeles Dodgers fought back on Tuesday against Major League Baseball’s (MLB) attempt to wrest control of the bankrupt baseball team from Frank McCourt, asking a US federal court to delay considering the league’s requests to sell the team and throw out their lawyers.
The team, who filed for bankruptcy in June, want to move forward with their own plans to hold an auction of their broadcast rights next month. The auction is expected to help refinance the team and allow McCourt to hold on to it after bankruptcy.
MLB has disputed the Dodgers’ need for bankruptcy and questioned McCourt’s personal interests and spending. The league filed documents with the court last week asking to present its own plan for the team, most likely a quick sale.
MLB followed that up on Monday with a second request, this time seeking to disqualify the team’s attorneys on the basis that they work for McCourt’s interests, not the team’s.
At the heart of the legal tussle is MLB’s contention that its baseball contract rules the team; the Dodgers say bankruptcy law trumps the contract.
In the documents filed on Tuesday, the Dodgers said the team needs more time to respond to the MLB requests, including the proposed disqualification of Dodgers co-attorneys Dewey & LeBoeuf and Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor.
The team asked for a further delay between a hearing on the disqualification of the attorneys and a hearing on MLB’s attempt to terminate the Dodgers’ right to present the team’s own reorganization plan. The team said it would need time to hire new attorneys if the court agreed with MLB’s request to disqualify present counsel.
The Dodgers requested that the bankruptcy court hold an emergency hearing on the team’s request by yesterday evening in order to decide whether these issues will be part of a bankruptcy hearing scheduled for Oct. 12.
The Dodgers expect the court to address their motion on the broadcast rights sale during that Oct. 12 hearing. The team argued in the court documents that the auction process should continue despite these motions because it will help determine the valuation of the Dodgers, which would be needed whether the broadcast rights or the Dodgers themselves are sold.
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