Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Jamie Fires Back: Perusing Today's Court Filings

A cavalcade of McCourtian posts hit TMZ in the last couple of hours.

First, Jamie wants her job back, or at least all the perks that come with it:

Here are the benefits Jamie is requesting: - travel by private jet - 5 star hotel accommodations - travel expenses - Unlimited - business dinners 5 nights per week - business lunches 5 days per week - parking spots at Dodger Stadium - flowers in the office - making Dodger Legends available for events without charge - provision of Dodger autographed items as requested for use in business and charitable activities - hair and makeup for Dodger events - access to team doctors for McCourt family members - access to the owner's suite for Dodger home games and non-baseball events at the stadium - Tickets to All-Star games and playoff games -- even if the Dodgers aren't playing - a pass to all National League games

Total living expenses for Jamie come out to about $6M / year, of which roughly $4M goes to the homes. And, elsewhere in the court filings, she wants access to the Charing Cross Road indoor pool (who doesn't?). And, she cites the sudden termination of her position as Dodgers CEO, and current unemployed state, as part of the rationale why she merits pendente lite (which I thought meant "pasta cooked firm but not hard," but apparently means "pending the litigation") support (an interesting twist on Frank's firing).

Reading through the rest of the court filings yields a number of juicy tidbits. In the document, the sections on Jamie's "integral role with the Dodgers" seems pretty compelling; it's clear that she wasn't just the owners wife, if she did all the things that she cites. I don't know how the Dodger Stadium 90090 zipcode hoo-hah made the list of "accomplishments," but even that notwithstanding, there are a lot of other tangible items on there besides a irrelevant marketing deal with the USPS.

On the scary side, the section "Frank Begins to Rewrite History..." has some scary allegations that admits the McCourts are "highly leveraged", and the move to transfer ownership to Frank reflected a move to California ("a community property state") and an attempt to shield assets from the McCourts' many creditors. Or, as Jamie contends, was this an attempt to transfer property ownership solely to Frank?

Jamie claims that she had been trying to keep plans to file for divorce secret until after the 2009 postseason, despite the fact that the last four months of her tenure as CEO "were very difficult." Looking back on how Frank asked Jamie to move her business office out of Dodger Stadium, that she had to get his approval for expense reimbursements of any sort, that she had to review all appointments including social engagements to Frank--it is hard to see how Jamie could have performed her job as CEO with all of this oversight.

In fact, one wonders how the team could have even kept focused with this circus going on behind the scenes (and in fact, the Dodgers did end up the season limping to the finish line; Peter Gammons in fact tipped this off in mid-October when he said Joe Torre's life was "a living hell").

How much did Jamie McCourt get paid to be the Dodgers CEO? The court filings indicate it was around $2M/year, though Frank would get $5-6M a year in salary or distributions. When you think about all the living expenses that both McCourts pushed through the business (potentially including all first-class airtravel, eight people to work on and in the McCourts' myriad homes, $5000/night hotel rooms around the world, a skin doctor and monthly hair colorer for Jamie, membership in no fewer than seven country clubs, and three 24-hour security officers (down from eight)), that's a pretty lavish lifestyle indeed.

Finally, Jamie McCourt claims "she's not giving up the Dodgers," and "the real Frank will be exposed" (sort of sounds like O.J. Simpson's chase for "the real killers").

Please, Jamie, don't expose the real Frank. I don't even know if I like the unexposed one we've got now.

28 comments:

MR.F said...

This is ridiculous, and oddly compelling. Maybe because this way I can continue to believe that there are no more major league baseball games to be played for the year.

Kyle Baker said...

In a way, though it started coming out right at the inopportune time of the playoffs, but not much, I'm glad this is all coming out now and not on Opening Day or during the season. Get it all out in the offseason...

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

I think I'm starting to care less.

rbnlaw said...

This is going to be fucking ree-dick-u-lous. Can we put the team up on the blocks now, start taking bids, and ship both of these Narcissists back to freakin' Beantown?

I'm with MLASF right about now. . .but I'll still follow the news. If for no other reason, to see how it affects the team.

Kyle Baker said...

Lakers ring ceremony, take me away!

Rob said...

John and Becky Moores.

Kyle Baker said...

I wish there were a Sons of Rick Fox site so I could post inane, less-than-insightful comments about tonight's Lakers game.

PenosCabell said...

Will this stupid Bos/Cle game end>??

PenosCabell said...

Dusty - Sons of Rick Fox? Nice.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Sons of Mark Madsen

Jimbo said...

Sons of Vlade Divac

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Sons of Mychal Thompson

Steve Sax said...

No Sons of AC Green (after you are married, of course)?

Kyle Baker said...

Has AC Green gotten laid yet?

MR.F said...

A.C. is married, but wikipedia doesn't mention any children.

Paul said...

How can I be in a hotel bar in LA and there is no laker game on. Or better yet how can I be at a hotel bar. Maybe I can fly Vegas and be back by 8:30 tomorrow morning.

Paul said...

Bartender asked me how long am I stuck here and I said till the Dodgers win a game. He said ahhhh your a football fan. The two dutch bags started talking Yankees. Time to put the iPod on move to corner, lower my hat and finish my overpriced whiskey.

Someone kill me or maybe I am already almost gone stuck in a socal hotel like Tony Soprano when he almost died. I see a bright light in the distance....

Kyle Baker said...

Damn,man. You should have called for back up. I'm always at the ready.

Steve Sax said...

Paul, you're not at a bar. You're at a retirement home.

Kyle Baker said...

Paul, if you keep hitting on my grandma, I swear...

Jimbo said...

Paul, perhaps, seeing how you are at a hotel, it would be time to search for YOUR Scarlett Johansson.

Paul said...

Holy shit your right this isn't whiskey it is prune juice. Two more nights of purgatory with liquor. Why was that one lady at the bar so friendly with everyone. She found my depression so interesting till I said I have no cash.

The planes look pretty tonight. Those are planes right?

MR.F said...

I endorse the "look for ScarJo" option.

berkowit28 said...

There are those "dutch bags" again. Holland sacks, I say!

rbnlaw said...

Dutch bags? I prefer French satchels. Belgian pockets?

Paul needs to move uptown and look for Jamie on the prowel. I'm sure he's better than the Pilsbury Doughboy.

Kyle Baker said...

Can't Jamie find work on the new show, "Cougar Town" ?

Kyle Baker said...

I thought pendente lite was a kind of Italian light beer.

Josh S. said...

MSTI brought up the EXCELLENT point that Jamie is demanding half a mil in living expenses a month, but was mocking us, the fans, for wanting Manny instead of new dream fields.

(Though, in hindsight, I would have taken the fields.)