FAMILY FEUD

Jeanie Buss Fights Siblings Over Lakers Sale

The Buss family’s trust owns 17.8 percent of the Lakers, and Jeanie says the family did not agree to the sale.

Mark Walter suddenly decided to sell his majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers less than a year after purchasing majority ownership in the team. Jeanie Buss is fighting the deal. The Buss family’s trust owns 17.8 percent of the Lakers, and Jeanie’s lawyer says the family did not agree to the selling of the team to Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner, and any vote suggesting the Buss family is selling “would be and is void.” Previous reporting suggested the Buss family had agreed to sell its shares, which would oust Jeanie from her current role as team governor. The siblings seeking the sale contend that four of the trust’s six beneficiaries approved it, enough for the measure to pass. In response, Jeanie’s lawyers argue in a letter: “No sale of the … 17.8 percent ownership interest in the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. can be effectuated without approval by the current co-trustees, i.e., Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss,” they write. If the sale is approved, it will be the highest price ever paid for an American sports team.