The Buss family’s battle for control of the Los Angeles Lakers has taken another turn, with Jeanie Buss accusing her siblings of secretly working to remove her as the franchise’s governor.
In a court filing Wednesday, Jeanie alleged that her siblings had orchestrated a “cloak and dagger” campaign against her, using private discussions and media reports to undermine her position, according to ESPN.
The dispute centres on the family’s remaining 17.82 percent ownership stake, which her siblings are attempting to sell to an investment group involving Bob Iger and Josh Kushner.
Jeanie’s lawyers argue that the conflict stems from her late father Jerry Buss choosing her to lead the franchise following his death in 2013.
“The conflicts that ensued after Dr. [Jerry] Buss’s death [in 2013] were sadly inevitable, and no doubt intensified given that Dr. Buss chose his daughter over four sons to be his successor,” her lawyers wrote.
“Respondents’ obsession with tearing down Jeanie and their inability to accept that she would be a part of the Lakers’ future is borne of this classic succession parable.”
The latest dispute follows Mark Walter’s purchase of a majority stake in the Lakers in 2025 at a $10 billion valuation.
Jeanie’s siblings are now seeking to exercise their go-along rights to sell the family’s remaining shares, with each potentially receiving another $371 million.
However, Jeanie argues that a 2017 court order requires co-trustees Joey and Janie Buss to vote in favour of keeping her in control.
“Jeanie had no choice but to seek court intervention to enforce the clear terms of the trust and this court’s 2017 order,” the filing states.
Her siblings have rejected those claims, arguing that their voting rights are protected under the family trust.
“There is deep irony in [Jeanie] alleging that it is [Joey and Janie] who are putting their self-interests first,” their lawyers argued in an October 16 filing, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
Jeanie has requested that Joey and Janie be removed as co-trustees and held in contempt of court.
Meanwhile, Walter and Kushner have reportedly agreed on the outstanding terms of the proposed $12.5 billion transaction, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
The family dispute is scheduled to return to Los Angeles Superior Court on December 8, with settlement discussions reportedly taking place ahead of the hearing.
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