LOS ANGELES (AP) - A judge on Wednesday will consider reducing the amount of spousal support Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt pays to his ex-wife Jamie in their divorce battle over ownership of the team.
McCourt filed a motion in July indicating that he has paid more than $5 million to cover the mortgages of six homes and a condominium over the last year, as well as $2.7 million in temporary spousal support to Jamie McCourt.
In May 2010, Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon, who oversaw the former couple’s divorce trial, ordered Frank McCourt to pay $225,000 a month in spousal support and more than $400,000 a month to maintain the homes.
McCourt said the payments should be more in line with the $5 million he receives annually and either Jamie McCourt should be ordered to pay the mortgages herself or the properties should be sold.
Jamie McCourt notes in a recent filing that her ex-husband has received more than $44 million into his bank accounts since June 2010.
On Wednesday, attorneys for both sides met with Gordon in his chambers as Frank and Jamie McCourt waited in court. No details were made available as the parties were to come back later that afternoon.
The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware last month, blaming a cash-flow crisis on Major League Baseball’s refusal to approve a multibillion-dollar TV deal McCourt was counting on to keep the franchise afloat.
MLB had assumed control of the club’s day-to-day operations in mid-April before the team filed for bankruptcy.
Gordon ruled in December that a postnuptial marital agreement that gave McCourt sole ownership of the Dodgers was invalid, clearing the way for Jamie McCourt, who served as the team’s CEO and was fired by her ex-husband two years ago, to seek half the team under California’s community property law.
A group backed by Chinese government-owned investment banks has made a $1.2 billion offer to buy the Dodgers, but McCourt has repeatedly said he’s not interested in selling the team.
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