Major League Baseball on Friday asked a federal bankruptcy judge to order the sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers, arguing in court papers that Frank McCourt’s plan to retain ownership of the team is “dead on arrival.”
MLB does not intend to approve any sale of television rights that would help McCourt maintain ownership of the Dodgers, according to the filing, and the league could enforce its ability to strip McCourt of the team once it emerged from bankruptcy protection.
“Mr. McCourt cannot hide the Dodgers in bankruptcy forever,” the filing read.
The request accelerates the legal confrontation at the heart of the case: Would the Bankruptcy Court override the rules of Major League Baseball?
A hearing is set Oct. 12, during a National League Championship Series in which the Dodgers will not participate.
McCourt and his ex-wife, Jamie, announced their separation two years ago, on the eve of the NLCS between the Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Since then, the Dodgers have operated under what attorneys for Frank McCourt have called a “cloud of uncertainty” regarding ownership of the team.
The league asked the judge to act even before the expiration of McCourt’s exclusive window to propose a reorganization plan so the Dodgers could “emerge quickly from bankruptcy under new ownership and with the financial stability necessary to adequately prepare for the 2012 baseball season and beyond.”
In a statement, the Dodgers called the filing “meritless” and said MLB had advocated “an unnecessary and value-destroying distressed sale of the team.”
SHORT HOPS
Shortstop Rafael Furcal was not in the Cardinals’ lineup, a day after he committed a critical error in a ninth-inning collapse against the Mets. … Former Tigers pitcher Denny McLain was arrested at the Michigan border with Canada on a fugitive fraud warrant issued in Louisiana. The warrant was issued Aug. 26 by the St. Charles Sheriff’s Department in Louisiana. The alleged fraud involved more than $1,500, a St. Charles sheriff’s spokesman said. … A government official in the Dominican Republic says Marlins closer Leo Nunez has admitted to using fake documents and a fake ID to sign a professional contract more than a year ago. The official said Nunez signed a sworn statement saying he is not the person identified in official documents. … The Twins’ injury-ravaged season took yet another bizarre twist when Danny Valencia and Denard Span were held out of the lineup after suffering general soreness and headaches from a minor traffic accident. The players were traveling in separate vehicles to the airport Thursday afternoon in Minneapolis after a victory over Seattle that broke an 11-game losing streak. Valencia’s car, a Range Rover Sport being driven by his fiancée, stopped in rush hour traffic and was rear-ended by Span’s car. Span, also driving a Range Rover, said he was traveling about 10 mph when he hit Valencia’s car.
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