Extreme Moneyball

(page 6 of 6)

David Boies believes he has at least five legal arguments why the MPA is invalid. One is that Jamie did not have independent counsel at the time she signed it; even though she herself is a lawyer and Silverstein suggested she hire someone, how many people in a seemingly happy marriage, working with their longtime lawyer, would have done so? Boies' most sensational argument is based on something he discovered reading through the files one day: that the schedule of assets that designates each spouse's separate property was actually changed right before Jamie signed it on Mar. 31, 2004. Whereas earlier drafts had said Frank's sole property was "exclusive" of the Dodgers, the schedule was amended to say "inclusive." Forensics experts hired by Jamie's side also determined that three copies of the MPA that Frank signed had the wrong schedules attached to them, which were then switched. Boies argues that by altering a signed and notarized agreement without telling the parties, the agreements are invalidated: "It's not a technical issue, it's fraud," he says. Susman argues that these were administrative errors that were corrected and says the evidence is clear that Jamie knew what she was signing. He wrote a letter on Aug. 10 to a member of Jamie's legal team: "Her credibility is shot and this is no doubt why her lawyers are now grasping at straws...."

The bigger question, though, is why the McCourts haven't been able to settle their differences. Frank recently told the court that he has borrowed money from his brother and a friend because he is out of cash and was turned down for a loan. (Jamie's side says this was a subterfuge.) Judge Gordon did approve Frank's request to sell their Cabo San Lucas property for $5 million—which Jamie had opposed—with all the money going toward her legal fees and to cover past support payments of $637,000 a month that Frank has not made.

The parties can't agree on the value of the Dodgers, and Jamie is insistent that she get a piece of the business. Boies says she is willing to accept a minority share; Frank hasn't budged. His camp says he has offered far more money to Jamie than she would get if the Dodgers were ordered sold and the proceeds were split, after paying off the $525 million in debt. But that values the Dodgers at an estimated $700 million to $900 million. Jamie's side believes the team could be worth more than $1 billion, especially once the site is developed or the team has launched its own sports network. As the trial looms, Jamie knows firsthand how intractable Frank can be. "I'm disappointed, not surprised," she says. Neither, presumably, is Frank. In better days, he once said of their four-decade partnership: "It's been one long argument, actually."

Business Exchange

Track and share business topics across the Web.