Former Sonics owner sues to rescind sale of team

News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports | Former Sonics owner sues to rescind sale of team (http://www.news9.com/global/story.asp?s=8212201)

SEATTLE (AP) -- Former Seattle SuperSonics owner Howard Schultz has filed a lawsuit to undo his sale of the team to an Oklahoma City-based group led by Clay Bennett, saying Bennett lied to him by promising to keep the NBA franchise in Seattle.

The lawsuit, filed late Tuesday in U.S. District Court, seeks to deprive Bennett's group of "the fruits of its deception" by rescinding the sale, and described Bennett's actions as "fraud." Read the full text of the suit. (PDF)

Bennett's Professional Basketball Club bought the team from Starbucks Corp. Chairman Schultz in July 2006, and Bennett publicly insisted he planned to keep the Sonics in Seattle. In reality, the group was eager to try and move the team to Oklahoma all along, according to internal e-mails revealed in litigation between the city of Seattle and the new ownership group.

The NBA's board of governors voted last Friday to approve the Sonics' move to Oklahoma.

Reached Tuesday evening, a spokesman for Bennett declined to comment.

Here's the link to the PDF of the suit:

http://kwtv.images.worldnow.com/images/incoming/PDF/0804/sonicslawsuit042208.pdf

Again, their filling suits in an attempt to bleed Bennett.

Again, their filling suits in an attempt to bleed Bennett.

He's asking for an equitable remedy -- and an extreme one at that.

He's asking that a constructive trust be formed through which someone else can buy the team, i.e., Schultz wants to have his cake and eat it too. He doesn't want to pay Bennett for the team, but he'd rather have it sold to someone else.

Also, I think the "clean hands" doctrine comes into play here. Schultz is clearly part of the "bleed the okies dry" coalition. If that is so, one who asks for an equitable remedy (as is the case here) will be denied unless they approach the court with clean hands.

This is a long shot and only a great deal of hometowning will be effective.

Anyone hear anything about NO losing the Hornets? Or is that just a rumor?