Lakers Dispute: Jeanie Buss Sues Siblings Over Sale Plot

Jeanie Buss filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday, accusing her brothers Joey and Jesse Buss of conspiring to sell the family’s Los Angeles Lakers stake. The filing alleges the siblings launched a covert media campaign to undermine her authority as team governor. She asked the judge to stop the sale and hold her brothers accountable for breach of fiduciary duty.

The conflict centers on the 17.8% ownership stake held by the Buss family. This percentage sits just above the NBA’s 15% threshold required to retain board control. If the family sells its entire share, each sibling would receive an additional $371 million through go-along rights. Buss argues that a 2017 court order prevents any vote to sell these shares without her consent.

Buss’s legal team stated that the disputes following Dr. Jerry Buss’s death in 2013 were inevitable. They noted that Dr. Buss chose his daughter as his successor over four sons, a decision they said intensified the tension. The filing described the siblings’ actions as a classic succession parable, driven by jealousy over the governor rights granted to Jeanie Buss.

An ownership group led by former Disney CEO Bob Iger and Josh Kushner is currently seeking to purchase the shares. Iger previously told The California Post that the plan involved Buss remaining governor, though he added that the arrangement could change. The proposed sale would effectively end the family’s direct control of the franchise’s governance structure.

Buss is asking the court to remove Joey and Jesse Buss as co-trustees and hold them in contempt. She also seeks to find Jim, Johnny, and Jesse liable for aiding and abetting a violation of the 2017 order. Her team wants reimbursement for legal costs, claiming the siblings ignored the trust terms and the existing court ruling.

The filing criticizes the siblings for sharing details of their plan with ESPN before discussing the matter with Buss. Her lawyers called this a false flag operation designed to force her hand and smear her in the media. The document describes the siblings’ backroom votes and resolutions as specious and intended to make them appear like victims.

A hearing is scheduled for December 8 in Los Angeles Superior Court. This date could provide finality for both sides in the ongoing legal battle. Settlement talks reportedly began this week, but the parties remain in dispute over the terms of the family’s stake in the NBA’s third-most valuable franchise.