The ongoing legal battle within the Buss family has intensified, with Joey and Janie Buss submitting a new 29-page filing to the Los Angeles Superior Court. This latest document serves as a direct opposition to a petition previously filed by their sister,
The dispute centers on the interpretation of the family trust and the authority of the siblings to move forward with a sale of their 17.82% stake to an ownership group led by Josh Kushner and Bob Iger. The filing argues that the trust’s language provides clear guidelines regarding the termination of the trust and the authority of the trustees, asserting that the siblings acted within their rights by exceeding the required two-thirds majority vote to initiate the sale.
Legal Arguments and Financial Motivations
In their latest submission, Joey and Janie Buss contend that the sale to Kushner and Iger, valued at $12.5 billion, represents the most favorable economic outcome for all six beneficiaries of the trust, including Jeanie. The filing highlights two specific contractual rights secured during a 2025 transaction with Mark Walter: a tag-along provision and a put right. The siblings argue that utilizing the tag-along provision to sell at the $12.5 billion valuation is a prudent financial decision that maximizes the value of the trust’s 185.59 shares.
The document further challenges the legal standing of Jeanie Buss’s petition, which accused her siblings of contempt. The filing argues that the siblings were simply exercising voting rights explicitly granted to them as beneficiaries, and it requests that the court dismiss the contempt claims. The siblings’ legal team characterized Jeanie’s petition as an attempt to prioritize her personal interest in maintaining her position as controlling owner over the rights of the other beneficiaries.
Addressing the Controlling Owner Status
A significant portion of the filing addresses the 2017 court decision that directed trustees to take necessary actions to keep Jeanie Buss as the controlling owner. The new filing argues that this requirement became moot once the vote was held to terminate the trust. Furthermore, the siblings dispute the necessity of maintaining a 15% stake to operate as a controlling owner, noting that such a requirement is absent from the original trust documents and the 2017 court order.
The legal maneuvering follows an earlier 36-page opposition filed on October 7 by all five siblings—Jimmy, Johnny, Jesse, Joey, and Janie. With the NBA board of governors expected to vote on the potential change in ownership in November, the court’s resolution of these competing filings remains a critical factor in the future of the franchise’s ownership structure.
