Court Filings and Exhibits

[Dick Tate]

9/24/07: City's suit against the Sonics:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2007/09/24/2003899710.pdf



4/8/08: Supporting declaration, Part 1 (includes City

[Ex-hippie]

I spent my lunch hour going through the latest batch of e-mails and don't think there's much of interest there. The "man possessed" e-mail is still by far the biggest smoking gun in the case.

[Dick Tate]

I didn't want Howie to think I forgot about him.

Times links:

4/22/08: Schultz lawsuit against the Sonics' Oklahoma-based ownership group:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/ ... 366926.pdf



4/22/08: Howard Schultz's letter to his investor group:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/ ... 367572.pdf



7/18/06: Clay Bennett's "side letter" to Howard Schultz regarding the Sonics' sale agreement:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/ ... 367575.pdf

[elbowthrower]

Apologies in advance for my laziness, but can anyone tell me when the city's lawsuit will be heard by the courts?

Also does anyone know what the next step is with the Schulz lawsuit?

[HeavyP]

Judge Marsha Pechman ruled against Clay Bennett and company today in their attempt to combine the lease issue and the damages issue.

This means that if somehow Bennett and company win the case to break the lease there will be a separate trial to determine the cost they would have to pay to break the lease. This trial would take considerable time to play out so any hope of a move this year was squashed today.

This is a huge win as it will lock the team here for this upcoming season unless they can negotiate a settlement with the city that lets them out of the lease. Obviously that isn

[wiff]

FAN-freakin-TASTIC! Hello Mr. Rose I can't wait to watch you play.

[Det the Threat]

Good Stuff!

Let's see what Stern will say now, once he's alright to be asked about that situation, during those next couple of days.

Also, should we expect Bennett/Stern to now do everything they can to reach a settlement?
Or does Bennett even just sit back, agree to the lease and stay those 2 years in Seattle?

[Ex-hippie]

Does anyone else here get momentarily confused whenever they see the bad guys in this litigation referred to as "the Sonics"? Or is that just me? Every time I see a reference to a motion or filing by "the Sonics" or by "the team," it takes me a minute to remember what's going on. I refuse to refer to the bad guys here as the Sonics; they're the ownership group.

Anyway, does anyone have any thoughts on this bizarre allegation by the ownership group about an "unseemly alliance" between the team, KL Gates and a local developer? I think it's encouraging because it shows how the ownership group is really grasping at straws here. Like anyone is going to believe this is all some kind of ploy for money or to benefit a single interested party. It inspires the same kind of reaction that I had when David Stern referred to the city's efforts to "extract a pound of flesh" before the team leaves. Obviously the owners and Stern think people don't get it. Sorry, guys... fraud and shady back-room dealings are hallmarks of the world you inhabit, for sure; but for the rest of us, this is about keeping the team where it belongs.

[colombianbrew]

^Yes, I do get confused by the whole Sonics being the bad guys thing.

With regard to the conspiracy theory though, it actually worries me a bit. If the Bennett can uncover emails or something that implies something to that effect, it could be very damaging to our cause. I seem to remember reading something somewhere about a presentation the Balmer group gave in which they proposed "bleeding the Okies dry". It could work against us.

Today's ruling was a big win, but even if the city loses on specific performance and a second trial for financial compensation is required, it may not preclude the team from moving while that trial takes place. Today was a step, but we still have a long way to go.

[Dick Tate]

Anyway, does anyone have any thoughts on this bizarre allegation by the ownership group about an "unseemly alliance" between the team, KL Gates and a local developer?

They tried to pin the Mayor on it in his depo.
Here's more of the recent filings:

4/29/08 McKinsey objection to City subpoena:
http://blogmedia.thenewstribune.com/media/users/ericwilliams/https___ecf.wawd.uscourts.gov_cgi-bin_show_temp.pdf


4/30/08 City's request for 6-month trial delay if PBC motion to amend for damages is granted:
http://blogmedia.thenewstribune.com/media/users/ericwilliams/cityrequest.pdf


05/02/08 Sonics file argument against Griffin:
http://blogmedia.thenewstribune.com/media/users/ericwilliams/SonicsargumentagainstGriffin.pdf
Related article: Is Wally Walker "Deep Throat?


2008-05-05 Sonics support of motion to amend or withdraw motion if it results in delay of June 16th trial date:
http://blogmedia.thenewstribune.com/media/users/ericwilliams/sonicswithdraw.pdf


2008-05-05 Sonics release exhibits including partial April 2nd transcript of Mayor Nickels deposition:
http://blogmedia.thenewstribune.com/media/users/ericwilliams/nickelsdeposed.pdf


2008-05-06 Judge Pechman denies motion to amend:
http://blogmedia.thenewstribune.com/media/users/ericwilliams/judgerulesforcity.pdf

[colombianbrew]

It's the first time I've seen it explicitly said, but I love Nickels' answer to the question about whether or not the city owns the Sonics. The fact is, when tax payers put in $74 million, they should be able to watch Basketball.

[jenn_gp]

2008-05-06 Judge Pechman denies motion to amend:
http://blogmedia.thenewstribune.com/media/users/ericwilliams/judgerulesforcity.pdf

I love seeing DENIES written in big caps. When combining the word with Clay Bennett, it puts a smile on my face.

The parties have been conducting discovery on the understanding that there is only one viable issue in this litigation