Judge tosses Spirit's deal to buy out Belkin

[HMFFL]

The feuding Hawks and Thrashers co-owners are still in business, now that a Maryland judge has scrapped an agreement between them saying the contract outlining how seven of the partners can buy out the eighth is too vague.

Boston-based partner Steve Belkin asked his partners to buy out his 30 percent stake in the teams in August 2005, a process that was supposed to take 125 days. The Spirit has been embroiled in a high-profile legal battle that has lasted more than three years.

The ruling, issued Monday afternoon, tossed out the initial purchase and sale agreement to buy out Belkin and keeps him in the partnership as a minority owner. The partners are now placed back in the same position they were in before August 2005.

Belkin, however, does have the right to appeal Monday's decision. Link

[td00]

Sounds like all of this has been about nothing but lining lawyer's pockets. According to Mike Gearon, who was on ATL radio this am, its back to business and this thing should be behind them.
That is the way this group is treating this decision.

Belkin is taking part in the conference calls and decisions being made re: the Hawks and Thrashers.

Gearon is stating that Sund is in charge of personnel decisions and his recommendations have been approved each time.

[ATL DirtyBird]

Im sorry but what does this mean?

[JoshB914]

Im sorry but what does this mean?

+1. I've been confused every step of the way with this situation.

[HMFFL]

Just like old times.

Gearon: Spirit ready to welcome Belkin back

After over four years of legal fighting, the Hawks and Thrashers fractured ownership group is one big — and not necessarily happy — family again.

Steve Belkin is back in as a minority owner, with the same rights he had as a minority owner before he and his seven partners began feuding in August 2005.

It’s business “as usual,” according to Hawks part-owner Michael Gearon Jr., who said Tuesday that the group has operated in that manner since the split four years and nearly two weeks ago.

A Maryland judge ruled Monday that the eight-man ownership group, Atlanta Spirit LLC, resume operations as it was before its acrimonious break-up in 2005. Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Durke G. Thompson ruled that the contract the owners had reached that would allow the seven owners to buy out Belkin was too ambiguous.

Belkin has the right to appeal Monday’s ruling. But until any move is made, Gearon said operations for both franchises will continue as is.

“I can’t speak for what Steve will or won’t do,” Gearon said. “But I can tell you that one thing people fail to realize is that over the course of these last four years, we’ve been operating these franchises and making decisions ... which Steve has participated in.

“Steve has actively participated in meetings that we’ve had, in which our [general managers] have made recommendations and there hasn’t been a situation where there was contention and we did not go in a direction our [general managers] wanted to go.” Link