Glen Taylor assigned the NBA in the an ongoing battle over ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to multiple people familiar with the matter, a rare move that could potentially expose private league communications and financial information to a more public audience.
Taylor, the current controlling owner of the Timberwolves, is locked in a legal battle with Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez over the NBA franchise. Lore and Rodriguez had a purchase agreement to buy Taylor’s team in stages for about $1.5 billion, but the deal fell apart earlier this year just before they could close on the controlling interest. Taylor claims that they violated the agreement and the transaction is void; Lore and Rodriguez claim that there was no violation and the agreement should be implemented.
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A contractually mandated mediation session four months ago failed to reach a resolution, and the two sides are now headed to binding arbitration in November. Often used by professional associations to keep matters away from public viewing, arbitration is a dispute resolution resolution process conducted in private and outside the court system, where filings are generally public and accessible to the media. As part of that process, Taylor’s legal team issued a subpoena to the league several months ago seeking communications and information, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details are private.
A representative for Taylor declined to comment. An NBA representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The league has publicly distanced itself from the Timberwolves situation. Asked about the legal dispute after the NBA board meetings in April, commissioner Adam Silver said “there is no role for the league” in the predetermined mediation and arbitration process, and that the dispute “will be resolved independently of the league office.”
He reiterated that stance this week. “There are pencils at the league office,” he told reporters. “Depending on the result, only then would the league continue a screening process for ownership.”
Subpoenas are orders to give sworn testimony in person or through written remarks, or to produce copies or inspection of any documents (including emails, texts and social media messages). Those issued in arbitrations are more susceptible to challenge than those issued in litigation, because arbitrations are not legal proceedings.
The NBA is not a party to the arbitration itself, but the league has a direct interest in the outcome of the arbitration because the Timberwolves are an NBA franchise. The NBA board of governors approves franchise ownership, which means the league will have final say on the ownership of the Timberwolves. Like the 29 other NBA franchises, Minnesota contractually agrees to NBA rules specified in the league constitution, bylaws and other documents. The NBA may not be opposed to a role in arbitration in which the league has its own stake.
It’s rare for a major leaguer to be subpoenaed in a legal proceeding like this—although almost everything about the Timberwolves sales saga is unusual—and there are plenty of reasons why it might not be a preferred outcome.
The risk for the NBA with a subpoena is that it could force disclosure of league communications about the Timberwolves that the league would prefer to keep confidential. The NBA could also take care of discussions about ownership in general, and income and contracts could be subject to disclosure in a subpoena. Although the Timberwolves arbitration is supposed to be confidential, there have already been leaks to the media about it.
Shortly after Taylor announced the sale was over earlier this year, Lore and Rodriguez said they were waiting NBA approval of a signed financial commitment from their supporters. That status, they argued, should have triggered an automatic 90-day extension under the terms of the purchase agreement.
Taylor has a different interpretation of the contract language. He said that while the buyers could have been granted a “limited extension” under specific circumstances, those circumstances did not occur.
As the ownership saga unfolded, Lore and Rodriguez continued to strengthen their financial position. In June, billionaire Mike Bloomberg joined their group. sporty reported at the time that the group intended to put all the money needed for its final two payments, more than $900 million in total, into escrow before arbitration.
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