Jamie McCourt Wants to Sell The Dodgers

Los Angeles - A judge today scheduled a hearing for next month to consider Jamie McCourt's request for a court order mandating the sale of the Dodgers as well as her ex-husband's bid for approval of a deal with Fox to generate revenue for the team.

"Jamie seeks this extraordinary relief because the situation facing the Dodger assets is dire," according to court papers filed on behalf of the former wife of team owner Frank McCourt.

"Over the past year Frank has mismanaged the Dodger assets and in the last few months his management of the assets has become so unprofessional and commercially unreasonable that it is threatening the very ownership and value of these assets as part of the community estate," her court papers allege.

If Judge Scott Gordon grants Jamie McCourt's request on June 22, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig might not have to make a decision on whether to take the Dodgers away from McCourt and risk a legal challenge, two people familiar with the legal proceedings told the Los Angeles Times.

Frank McCourt wants Gordon to approve the television deal he negotiated with Fox on behalf of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He maintains his ex-wife's claim to be equal owner of the National League Franchise threatens the team's financial stability and has contributed to Major League Baseball's effort to seize the team. McCourt maintains the Fox deal is worth $3 billion and that it would be enough to keep the Dodgers operating and also pay for the costs of the ongoing divorce proceedings. He says the Fox deal is crucial if he is going to be able to meet the team's payroll demands at the end of this month.

Jamie McCourt wants Gordon, who has overseen the McCourts' divorce, to order the club be sold so she and her ex can both control the sale process and receive maximum value for the team.

"There is good cause to believe that the value of the Dodger assets is being compromised by Frank's continuing management of the team," Jamie McCourt's court papers state.

Gordon in December threw out a marital property agreement that would have granted Frank McCourt sole ownership of the Dodgers. At the time, Frank McCourt said he would use another legal route to show the Dodgers are his sole property, but he has not filed supporting documents.

The Dodgers' financial woes, many of them stemming from the McCourts' messy divorce, prompted Selig and Major League Baseball to assume control of the team in April.

Selig appointed former Texas Rangers President Tom Schieffer as a trustee authorized to have the final say over any team transaction of at least $5,000.

On hold is what Frank McCourt says is a $3 billion television contract with Fox, a deal he insists will fix the Dodgers' monetary troubles.

Without approval of the Fox contract and the money it would bring in this year, the Dodgers may not be able to meet their May 31 payroll. If McCourt cannot pay the salaries, Selig possibly could seize the Dodgers in the name of Major League Baseball, pay the salaries and put the team up for sale.