Lawyers for five of the six Buss siblings filed a 29-page response fighting Jeanie Buss' attempt to oust them as co-trustees of the family trust.
The Buss family's fight over the Lakers' remaining ownership stake escalated Friday when lawyers for Joey and Janie Buss filed a 29-page response with the Los Angeles Superior Court, challenging Jeanie Buss' petition to remove them as co-trustees of the Buss Family Trust.
The dispute centers on a vote to sell the family's remaining 17.82% share of the team. Joey, Janie, Jesse, Jim and Johnny all voted in favor of the sale, while Jeanie, the Lakers' acting governor, cast the lone dissenting vote. The sale would follow former majority owner Mark Walter's $12.5 billion sale of his controlling stake to venture capitalist Joshua Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger.
On August 17, Jeanie's lawyer, Adam Streisand, disputed the validity of the siblings' vote to sell their remaining stake without her consent, setting off the current round of legal filings. Friday's response is the latest move in an effort by five of the six siblings to keep their positions as trustees and proceed with the sale despite Jeanie's objections.
The case remains before the Los Angeles Superior Court, with no resolution yet to the standoff over control of the family's trust and its say in the Lakers' ownership structure.