Donald Sterling suffered a major, perhaps even decisive defeat Monday, in his attempt to stop the sale of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Judge Michael Levanas ruled in favor of Sterling's estranged wife, Shelly Sterling, in her efforts to take over the Sterling Family Trust on the grounds that Donald is mentally incapacitated, and to sell the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2 billion.
As the Los Angeles Times explained, Judge Levanas delivered his decision very quickly — just minutes after the closing arguments by attorneys — to uphold the finding by two doctors that Donald Sterling was incapacitated. He also handed down a key procedural decision that would appear to make this outcome final:
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The ruling included the extraordinary step of granting of Shelly Sterling’s request for an order under section 1310(b) of California’s probate code that allows the sale to be completed regardless of an appellate court’s intervention. [Los Angeles Times]
The NBA and Shelly Sterling have moved quickly against Donald Sterling over the last few months, after he was caught making racist comments to a girlfriend in a recorded conversation.
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