With a trial set to begin on July 7 to determine whether Shelly Sterling followed the Sterling family trust's protocols properly in agreeing to sell the Los Angeles Clippers to Steve Ballmer, Donald Sterling's lawyers are hoping to push the trial into federal court.
The current trial, which will seek to determine if the mental incapacitation designation of Donald Sterling and thus the agreed to sale was legal, is scheduled for probate court. On Thursday, Donald Sterling filed a motion to move the trial federal, citing federal privacy law violations as his reasoning.
From The Associated Press:
Shortly before the start of a trial to determine whether Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling's estranged wife can sell the team, his lawyers filed a motion Thursday to move the case to federal court, alleging his medical privacy has been violated.
...
On Thursday, Donald Sterling's attorneys filed a notice of removal to federal court, saying the airing of his medical information in the probate case violates federal privacy laws. In previous filings, they argued that Donald Sterling submitted to examinations of his mental competence under false pretenses, that there was undue influence in the doctors' findings, and that the examination and letters about his capacity were defective and incomplete.
The lawyer for Shelly Sterling called the motion a "cowardly ploy" since Donald Sterling authorized the public release of his medical records as a condition of the trust. Previously, a judge had questioned why the matter was even brought to court given how clear the language in the trust was on these matters.
Ballmer's attorney has also gotten involved, saying that they will file an emergency relief to block the trial from going federal.
Obviously, time is now of the essence with Friday's holiday and the probate trial set to begin on Monday.
