As I roam aimlessly through the dial searching for a program with moderate substance and entertainment value, I take a minute and think to myself, "why do I still own a TV that has a dial?." Then I hear it, that unmistakable baritone piano riff as both parties enter the courtroom.
What you are witnessing is real. The participants are not actors, they are actual litigants with real cases. They will settle their disputes here, in Judge Bud Selig's forum. Welcome to The People's McCourt.
Frank McCourt, the defendant, enters the courtroom first accompanied by his high-profile legal team headed up by none other than Jackie Chiles. You may remember that he defended the infamous "New York Four" in 1998 as the first to be charged with the "Good Samaritan Law" in Latham, Massachusetts.
Donning a pair of over-sized Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses, plaintiff Jamie McCourt, estranged wife of the defendant enters sharply with her own entourage of lawyers. Her legal dream team is headed up by the legendary Denny Crane who sports a remarkable record of over 6,000 cases without a loss to his name.
Stick with me here people, this is Hollywood. Anything can happen.
The Honorable Judge Selig enters the courtroom. He fixes his glasses, takes a sip of water from his Milwaukee Brewers coffee mug and begins to read over the case briefing. This is no ordinary case, however. As the McCourts very publicly and very bitterly divvy up the assets of their 30 year marriage, the public waits with bated breath on the ultimate fate of the McCourts' biggest and most famous purchase, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Frank McCourt purchased the Dodgers in 2004 for $430 million, two years after being denied ownership of the Boston Red Sox, a bid that was won by an ownership group consisting of John W. Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino.
McCourt used the collateral from his South Boston real estate ventures (valued around $200 million) to finance the sale to Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp, the previous owner of the franchise. The Boston area parking lots that McCourt sold was the proposed site for what would have been a new waterfront stadium for the Red Sox had he received the bid to buy the team. Red Sox fans everywhere are undoubtedly thankful that he didn't.
Frank McCourt then hired his wife Jamie McCourt, a successful lawyer, businesswoman and noted philanthropist to be the Dodgers' CEO. In five years at the helm of one of baseball's most storied franchises, the McCourts increased the value of the team by approximately 68%, as its estimated value was placed at $727 million by Forbes in 2010.
They also increased the payroll, ticket sales and debt.
Like most Hollywood couples, the magic didn't last long once they made it out to L.A. The McCourts privately separated in October of 2009 and Mrs McCourt was fired as CEO of the Dodgers shortly after the team was eliminated from the playoffs. She filed for divorce from Mr McCourt less than a month later.
Predictably, there was a Hollywood twist.
Shortly after terminating his wife from her leadership position within the organization, Mr McCourt cited alleged infidelities between his wife and her personal driver and bodyguard, Jeff Fuller. He also alleged that his wife and Mr Fuller went on a Dodger funded, jet-setting two week vacation spanning multiple countries including Israel and France. It was for this alleged reason Mrs McCourt was fired for insubordination.
Here's where it gets tricky.
You have to remember folks, this is unfolding like a bad Eric Roberts movie (a bit redundant, I know), so there's yet another plot twist. Just when you think the butler did it in the library with the lead pipe, we get introduced to the shady and ultra creepy groundskeeper.
Under normal circumstances, a judge could decree that since the purchase of the Dodgers occurred within the timeline of the marriage, the team is considered a joint asset and should be split down the middle. Obviously neither McCourt wants to walk away from the potential hundreds of millions of dollars the team could return them in upcoming years.
But as promised, here comes the groundskeeper.
Late last year, it was shown that Mrs McCourt was given a document to sign that had the couple's joint property rights in mind. It was later discovered that Jamie McCourt never actually read the document, and unwittingly signed over her ownership rights in exchange for sole ownership of the couple's many properties. Mrs McCourt later told the LA Times that she "trusted her husband" when he told her the document was designed to protect their assets from creditors.
It looks like Frank McCourt has been cast as the shady new character.
Mr McCourt denies any misdoings, citing that his wife knew exactly what she was signing. As unscrupulous an action as this sounds, its not the most troubling action to Judge Selig.
Further troubling Selig is that just this month it was reported that Frank McCourt had to take out a $30 million loan on his TV deal with FOX to make his first payroll for the team. According to NBC Sports, Selig had previously expressed his disdain towards McCourt using his TV deal "as a means of resolving his personal financial problems."
Talk about your surprise witnesses.
Selig retired to his chambers, pondering his verdict in between a few rousing games of "Angry Birds." The fans of baseball and more specifically, the Dodgers, waited patiently. Then, on a rainy Wednesday afternoon in April, Judge Selig made his decree.
The verdict stated that Major League Baseball was going to assume control of the team, only the second time MLB has assumed control of a team, the 2002 Montreal Expos being the only other team to hold that distinction.
Ultimately it looks like this judgement will push McCourt out as the Dodgers owner and provide a window of opportunity for a new ownership group to come in and purchase this prestigious organization. Will it be Donald Trump? Perhaps it will be Mark Cuban. Only time will tell, but it appears as if the honeymoon is over in Los Angeles.
Not to be forgotten in this whole mess is Giants fan Bryan Stow, the 42 year old paramedic from Santa Cruz that was brutally beaten by two Dodger fans in the parking lot outside Dodger Stadium on opening night at Chavez Ravine. Two days ago, the Associated Press reported that Stow was "no longer under sedation, but still remains in a coma."
This is just the last sad chapter in a long and embarrassing public display of a team and a fan base that just wants to get back to baseball.
Let's hope for everyone's sake that eventually this ends up with a happy Hollywood ending. As for now, with fans being beaten into comas, mishandled team finances and a bitter discourse at the top of the organization, the Dodgers are losing in divorce court as well as in the court of public opinion.
