Shultz May Have A Case!!!

Many people, including myself, thought Howard Shultz' lawsuit against Clay Bennett's group was for PR reasons.  That may not be the case!

Lester Munson, one of ESPN's senior legal advisors, was just on KJR radio and said when he first heard of the lawsuit, he gave Shultz a 0% chance of winning.  Now that the actual suit has been filed, Munson has read it and according to him, there's substance to it.  To the point, he is giving Shultz a "55%-60%" of winning.  Further, if Shultz wins, it would not be for a monetary amount, rather, he would indeed get the franchise back, or at the very least, the court would act as a mediary to award the franchise to the Balmer group....most likely......AND, keep it in Seattle!!!!!!!

So, for all the OKC people who believe this is a done deal - in terms of the team moving, not so fast.  Turns out, Bennett has a few major court hurdles to clear before that happens, and not just one.

good news man where can i find the artical on it??

What do we think about the fact that the same judge who is hearing the Cities case against the Sonics is also now hearing the case with Shultz?  I would think it's expedient but I have no idea if it's good or bad. 

seattlefan....it wasn't an article, rather an interview on the radio.  You can get the podcast though.  Go to www.kjram.com.  Then, on the right hand side of the site, you can click the link for the interview.  It's under OnDemand/Softy/Lester Munson. 

Very interesting listen!

Emails by Bennett and the NBA that were reported by the Seattle Times today certainly raise questions about the good faith efforts to keep the team in Seattle. You can read the details here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004372490_sonic
s25m.html

That evidence does bolster Schultz's lawsuit.

I still think the best solution is to have Bennett sell the Sonics to a local ownership group that can resurrect the Key Arena private financing deal and let Bennett use that money on an even swap to buy an expansion franchise for OKC. Then put them in the Pacific Northwest Division so the Sonics can beat the tar out of them for 10-20 years.

Schultz has already said he has no interest in re-purchasing the team.  To paraphrase the movie "Kingpin" Munson is really Munsoned on this one.  Good faith breach of contract is hard to prove in any case.  And if Schultz won't repurchase the team, then for Seattle to keep the team, it would require a Federal judge, WITHOUT COMMON LAW LEGAL PRECENDENT, to place a sports franchise into a trust that he would be responsible for administering, and to personally oversee the sale to a local investor, and all the complexities of that whole deal, with the NBA barking at his back and appealing the whole way.  Do you think a Federal judge is willing to spend several years overseeing a trust-bound NBA franchise that is a difficult sell to make, all the while needing to renogiate a lease deal while holding it in trust?  Talk about a waste of court time.