Report: Trial over Clippers sale to start July 7
Donald and Shelly Sterling continue their battle over the L.A. Clippers. (John Green, Cal Sport Media via AP Images)
A four-day trial to determine whether Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was properly removed as an administrator for the Sterling family trust that owns the team will start July 7, reports Linda Deutsch and Tami Abdollah of the Associated Press.
On Wednesday, a probate court judge in Los Angeles rejected Shelly Sterling's request to confirm her authority as the only administrator of the trust. Shelly Sterling wants to proceed with the reported $2 billion sale of the team to former Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer.
NBA owners hope to vote on approval of the sale on July 15.
According to the report, the NBA set a hard deadline of Sept. 15 to sell the team and if it is not sold by then, the league will try to seize the franchise and sell it on its own.
Donald Sterling continues to proceed with his legal battle against the NBA, suing the league for $1 billion after he was banned for life and fined $2.5 million after a recording was made public in which he was heard making racist comments.
More from the AP:
Shelly Sterling activated that clause in negotiating what would be a record-breaking deal with Ballmer as sole trustee. But Donald Sterling challenged the removal in a letter sent Monday to his wife's attorney said "any attempt to remove me as a Trustee of the Sterling Trust is invalid and illegal. Furthermore, any assertion that I am 'incapacitated'... is false and without merit."
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