Los Angeles Dodgers season ticket-holders will have a role to play in the club’s bankruptcy case after they received two seats on the creditors’ committee.
The US trustee for Delaware’s bankruptcy court agreed to appoint two representatives of the season ticket-holders to the official committee of unsecured creditors of the team.
In return, lawyers for a group of season ticket-holders dropped a motion seeking court approval of a separate official committee of ticket-holders.
The lawyers had argued that the season ticket-holders had invested millions of dollars in the team and deserved to be heard in the case. Both the team and the other creditors opposed the motion.
“This resolution allows for the immediate participation of two season ticket-holders on the official committee so that hopefully the perspectives and salient interests of the season ticket-holders will be represented in the actions of the official committee,” attorney Robbin Itkin said.
In the meantime, lawyers for the Dodgers and for Major League Baseball continued sparring via court filings as they prepared for the court fight that will start next week to determine the fate of the club.
In papers filed on Monday, lawyers for baseball commissioner Bud Selig repeated charges that Dodgers owner Frank McCourt had “looted” more than $180 million from the club for personal and business obligations that had nothing to do with baseball.
The Dodgers released a statement saying the league had “mischaracterized the facts with inflammatory allegations that are not supported by the evidence.”
In court filings of their own, Dodgers lawyers have accused Selig of deliberately denying the club needed revenue sources in his bid to seize control and force McCourt to sell the team.
McCourt, who has been involved in a bitter and costly divorce battle, had hoped a sale of television rights would keep the team afloat and blamed Selig for nixing the plan, after which the Dodgers sought protection from creditors under US bankruptcy laws.
When the case comes to court, Selig wants judge Kevin Gross to order a sale of the Dodgers while McCourt wants the judge to deny that request and allow an auction of TV rights to allow him to retain control.
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