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Attorneys Vic Hill and Brad MacDonald

Dodgers Divorce, Property Dispute Ruling Prolongs the Endgame

In one of our previous blogs (September 13), we noted the central role that division of marital property can play in a divorce proceeding, especially where substantial assets are involved. Having a solid family law attorney with experience in asset valuation, business division and related matters can be key to obtaining a positive outcome.

This is certainly evidenced by the Frank and Jamie McCourt divorce proceeding and property division dispute that is working its way through the California courts. We previously related for readers that each party to the dispute has a signed original marital property agreement that provides for distinctly different outcomes. The agreement Frank favors states that he gets total ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. The contract that Jamie prefers states that Frank does not have complete ownership.

That ambiguity was resolved by the judge in the case just this week, when he threw out the agreement as invalid, ruling that the parties had “no mutual assent or meeting of the minds between them when they executed the agreement.”

So where does that leave the McCourts? Frank has notified the court that he intends to appeal. He will allegedly argue that he bought the Dodgers before his marriage with Jamie through a company he had established.

Many legal commentators say that Jamie has a stronger case in light of the invalidity ruling concerning the marital property agreement. They maintain that a likely outcome is for the Dodgers to be sold and for Jamie — as co-owner — to get half the proceeds.

Related Resource: www.abovethelaw.comDrafting Fail: Court Rules Jamie McCourt Owns a Piece of the L.A. Dodgers” December 7, 2010