Jeanie Buss petitions court to block siblings from selling Lakers stake

The Buss family’s fight over the Lakers is back in court.

Jeanie Buss has petitioned a Los Angeles Superior Court asking a judge to block her five siblings from selling the family’s remaining stake in the Los Angeles Lakers, while accusing them of secretly orchestrating a deal to try to remove her as the team’s governor. The petition, which was processed by the court on Wednesday, is the strongest sign yet that this feud won’t be ending anytime soon.

Jeanie Buss, who was chosen by her late father and longtime Lakers owner, Jerry Buss, as his successor before he died in 2013, called her siblings’ behavior “devious” and said in the court filing that they should be held in contempt while also being held “liable for damages.” She also called for the removal of Joey and Janie Buss as co-trustees of a trust that holds the family’s remaining stake in the Lakers (17.8 percent), citing breach of fiduciary duty. NBA rules mandate that team governors own at least 15 percent of the team.

“Jeanie never agreed to any sale, was never consulted, and was never even informed,” her petition states.

The petition includes five Causes of Action, with her attorneys offering lengthy arguments for each of the requests in the 97-page file.

• “Instructing trustees to comply with 2017 (Court) Order.” As the petition states, the order, which was gleaned amid Jeanie’s power struggle with Jim and Johnny Buss at the time, “requires the trustees to take all actions reasonably available to ensure Jeanie’s appointment as Controlling Owner” (i.e. Governor).
• “Declaring purported resolution void.” According to the court filing, Joey and Jesse’s counsel sent this resolution to Jeanie, signed by co-trustees Joey and Janie, in which they “agree to exercise the power to sell the Trust’s Shares of the Company pursuant to the terms of the Proposed Go-Along Sale.” Jeanie Buss argues in the court filing that her siblings’ vote via the resolution was invalid because it violates the terms of the family trust holding the Lakers’ shares, which she said requires that she keep control of the team.
• “Surcharging and removing Joey H. Buss and Janie M. Buss as co-trustees for breach of fiduciary duty.” The petition alleges the pair “committed a breach of trust” through their attempt to sell the remaining shares and that their “deliberate exclusion of Jeanie” shows they are unable to act impartially. In addition to asking that they be removed, Jeanie Buss asked that the court hold her siblings liable “for loss and damage” to the trust.
• “Contempt of court.” The petition alleges that the other members of the trust “executed the purported resolution, and rather than heeding Jeanie’s counsel’s warning, they publicly declared their intent to ‘move forward’ with the sale, and refused to withdraw their position even after Jeanie offered to work cooperatively toward a solution. Their conduct is not merely noncompliant; it is defiant.”
• “Aiding and abetting.” The petition claims that Jim, Johnny and Jesse “aided and abetted Janie and Joey in violating the 2017 Order and the terms of the (Family Trust).”

Jeanie Buss argued in the petition that selling doesn’t make financial sense given the team’s “continuously skyrocketing value,” adding that her goal is to carry out her father’s legacy and create value for fans and the Buss family. That stock will only rise under the new ownership group, she argued.

“Indeed, other owners of stakes in the Lakers have expressed their support for Jeanie remaining Controlling Owner, and have voiced their intent to hold, not sell, their stakes in the Lakers,” according to the petition.

A court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 5, according to the filing. The Athletic has reached out to Joey and Jesse Buss for comment.

The Buss family drama has been in the spotlight since Aug. 12, when news broke that Mark Walter was selling the team to Joshua Kushner, a billionaire venture capitalist, and Bob Iger, the former Disney CEO, for a record valuation of $12.5 billion. Jeanie Buss’ attorney, Adam Streisand, said Walter’s decision to sell had “come as a total and complete surprise to Jeanie and everyone in the Lakers organization.”

Days later, Jeanie Buss said she was blindsided by a news report citing a “family” statement saying the family had decided to sell their remaining stake to Iger. In reality, she said in her petition, the siblings voted without her knowledge (the vote, per league sources, was 5-0 among the other siblings).

But Jeanie Buss, who fired Jim Buss as executive vice president of basketball operations in 2017 and Joey and Jesse from their front office roles nine months ago, argued via a letter from her attorney on Aug. 17 that her siblings can’t sell. Her attorney referenced the 2017 court order requiring her co-trustees to “take all action reasonably available to them” to ensure Jeanie remained the controlling owner of the Lakers.

“Their conduct is not driven by financial necessity but by animosity toward Jeanie and in willful disregard for the (Trust), this Court’s 2017 Order, their fiduciary duties, and Dr. Buss’s express intent,” the petition reads.

When Walter purchased the team for a valuation of $10 billion in June 2025, he agreed to have Jeanie Buss serve as governor for at least five years as part of the deal. Then came Walter’s stunning decision to sell, one that came as federal investigators were, and are, scrutinizing parts of Walter’s sprawling business network. League sources familiar with the terms of the Iger-Kushner deal said Jeanie Buss was expected to remain governor for the next four years, and still would if she’s able to retain at least 15 percent of the team. And while this latest battle of the Busses has certainly raised questions about who will be the team’s governor going forward, it is not expected to derail the sale to Iger and Kushner.

“Jeanie thought she had put all of her siblings’ scheming and manipulations behind her in 2017,” her petition states. “Sadly, that was not the case – and Jeanie must respectfully request relief from this Court a second time.”

Or, as the introduction to the latest court filing begins: “In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, ‘It’s like déjà vu all over again.’”

The allegations mark the latest chapter in a long-running Buss family feud that has repeatedly spilled into public view, turning control of one of basketball’s most iconic franchises into a long-running soap opera. Jeanie Buss’ petition says her brother, Joey, signed a letter to sell the Lakers on Aug. 11 — one day before news broke that Walter planned to sell his stake to Iger and Kushner.

The five siblings then signed a resolution to sell the team Aug. 18 and issued a statement affirming that decision.

“Johnny, Jimmy, Janie, Joey and Jesse have made the decision to sell the family’s remaining stake, and we remain united in that decision,” the siblings said in the statement, which did not mention Jeanie Buss. “We intend to move forward thoughtfully, respectfully and through the appropriate process.”

According to a declaration from Streisand that was filed along with the petition, the attorneys for both sides did not communicate directly until Aug. 19. In a virtual “Teams” meeting with the attorneys, Streisand addressed media reports insinuating that Jeanie Buss had attempted to change the family’s Trust ahead of the Iger-Kushner sale in a way that would secure her governorship for the next four years (and before the sale was publicly known). Per the declaration, the attorney’s meeting was proposed by Streisand, and also included five attorneys from the other side (representing Joey, Jesse, Jim and Johnny).

The Aug. 10 reported attempt by Lakers senior vice president of finance Joe McCormack at scheduling a meeting between the six Buss siblings, according to league sources close to Jeanie Buss, was intended to discuss possible changes to the “last man standing” provision in the Trust which transfers funds to the other siblings when one of them passes (as opposed to their respective family members). The six Buss siblings inherited the Lakers after their father’s death.

“There was no emergency meeting, indeed, there was no meeting at all, and any suggestion that Jeanie concealed details about the potential Walter sale is false,” the petition reads.

Streisand elaborated on the Aug. 19 meeting between the attorneys from both sides even more in his declaration.

“I reminded everyone that there had been ongoing discussions among the Buss family for a period of time long before any news of any possible sale by Mark Walter of his stock to attempt to resolve issues that for years had been a source of consternation among the siblings about the Jo Ann 2006 ESBT (and three other Buss trusts that had been terminated by the sale of 100% of the Lakers stock owned by those trusts),” Streisand wrote. “I reminded them that (Jim) Buss had made a proposal that Jeannie supported, and that (Lakers senior vice president of finance) Joe McCormack had circulated a proposal that attempted to address the varying objections and concerns of siblings.

“I explained that the news of the potential sale by Mark Walter had come as a total and complete surprise to Jeanie and everyone in the Lakers organization, and it certainly would impact terms of the proposals under discussion, but that Jeanie was committed to trying to work with her siblings to continue those discussions and reach agreement. I asked if anyone had a reaction to what I had said. The only person to speak among the other participants in the meeting was Mr. (James) Kalyvas (another Joey Buss attorney), who is a litigator. Mr. Kalyvas said that the only question that they had is why won’t Jeanie agree to do what her siblings want.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.