Jeanie Buss, the controlling governor of the Los Angeles Lakers, filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday to block her five siblings from selling the family’s remaining 17.8% stake in the NBA franchise. The petition alleges that her siblings acted without her consent or legal authority in attempting to sell the stake, which was valued at $12.5 billion in a recent transaction.
The petition’s core claims
The 97-page filing accuses Janie Buss, Joey Buss, Jim Buss, Johnny Buss, and Jesse Buss of “devious behavior” for excluding Jeanie from discussions about the sale. According to the petition, the siblings elected to sell the family’s remaining stake soon after Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner agreed to a record-breaking transaction with Mark Walter. The filing states that Jeanie “never agreed to any sale, was never consulted and was never even informed” of the decision. Jeanie’s legal team seeks to declare the siblings’ votes void, remove Janie and Joey as co-trustees for “breach of fiduciary duty,” and hold all five siblings in contempt of court for “aiding and abetting.”
Legal and family dynamics behind the dispute
The Buss family’s stake in the Lakers is held by a family trust, which includes a “last man standing” clause. This provision transfers a sibling’s equity upon their death to surviving siblings rather than their own children, incentivizing lifetime sales. Jeanie Buss was hand-picked by her father, former Lakers owner Jerry Buss, to oversee the franchise, which grew from a $67.5 million purchase into a $12.5 billion brand. The 2017 court order that installed Janie and Joey as co-trustees alongside Jeanie mandated that the family’s co-trustees take “all actions reasonably available” to ensure Jeanie remained the controlling owner.
Trust structure and conflicting interpretations
Trusts and estates attorneys note that while it is common for parents to limit stakeholders in a family business, the “last man standing” clause is unusual. Steven Fox, a partner at Buchalter, stated that such clauses are rarely drafted because they can result in unfair outcomes, such as divesting a sibling’s children of their inheritance due to an early death. Fox, like other attorneys consulted by CNBC, has not seen the terms of the Buss family trust. The dispute highlights broader challenges faced by wealthy families in structuring trusts to preserve legacy while managing internal conflicts.