The legal dispute over the right to sell the Buss family's remaining stake in the Los Angeles Lakers continued Wednesday with five of the Buss siblings filing their case against their sister, Lakers acting governor Jeanie Buss.
"Jimmy, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss, the five of six siblings who voted to sell the Trust's shares in the Lakers, today filed their formal opposition, demonstrating that Jeanie Buss's petition is legally and factually baseless," the siblings said in a statement issued to ESPN. "While discussions among the siblings continue, their focus remains on facilitating the proposed transaction and the [Buss family] trust's participation in it, while ensuring that all beneficiaries, including Jeanie, are treated equally.
"Today's filing is a necessary step to protect those interests and ensure the transaction proceeds on schedule."
In August, Jeanie, through her lawyer Adam Streisand, challenged the legality of her sibling's vote to sell the family's remaining shares of the franchise to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger's ownership group after the pair agreed to purchase the Lakers from Mark Walter at a $12.5 billion valuation. Streisand submitted a 97-page petition to block the sale of the family's remaining 17.82% ownership stake to the new group, which, sources told ESPN, is expected to take control of the franchise following an NBA board of governors vote in November.
A court hearing was scheduled for Nov. 5 and later postponed to Dec. 8 to accommodate prior commitments for Streisand.
The other Buss siblings submitted a 36-page response Wednesday detailing their position on various issues that Streisand contended on behalf of Jeanie.
A key rebuttal by the siblings addresses a 2017 court order that Streisand argued would prevent the family from attempting to sell the team without Jeanie's consent as the controlling owner. In the 2017 order, Joey and Janie Buss were named as co-trustees along with Jeanie.
They argue the 2017 order requiring the trustees to take reasonably available actions to maintain Jeanie as controlling owner did not limit the beneficiaries' separate rights to terminate the trust. Neither the stipulation nor the order addresses the termination provision they are exercising now.
The new filing also highlights the $2.2 billion the trust is set to earn through the tag-along provision by selling to Kushner and Iger's group at the reported $12.5 billion for which they agreed to purchase the team from Walter.
It also addresses Jeanie's side agreement with Walter when he took over the team in October 2025 that arranged for her to remain director and controlling owner for five years, subject to NBA approval. The filing contends that Jeanie is only acting in her own self-interests to preserve her position with the Lakers by preventing the sale that has already been voted in agreement on by her five siblings.
The filing argues that Jeanie's personal interest in maintaining her stature with the franchise conflicts with her fiduciary obligations to the trust and its beneficiaries.