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Clippers’ ex-owner Donald Sterling sued for legal fees from fight for team

By Pete D. Camarillo

Apr 20, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Shelly Sterling attends game two of the first round of the NBA playoffs between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples center. Sterling is the wife of former Clippers owner Donald Sterling (not pictured). Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 20, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Shelly Sterling attends game two of the first round of the NBA playoffs between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples center. Sterling is the wife of former Clippers owner Donald Sterling (not pictured). Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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A lawsuit over legal fees from the fight for ownership is former Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s latest legal struggle.

Two law firms sued former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling this week for fees allegedly owed from representation during the 2014 legal fight for the franchise, according to The Los Angeles Times.

The lawsuit alleges that Sterling owes the two firms more than $270,000 from the July 2014 case, which upheld the sale of the franchise to Steve Ballmer.

According to the Times, the compliant said “no legitimate reason” has been provided “for the failure to pay.”

In the 2014 case, a judge ruled that Shelly Sterling, Donald’s wife, acted appropriately in agreeing to the sale of the franchise.

Shelly Sterling is also listed as a defendant in her capacity as the lone trustee for the family trust that owned the Clippers.

Representation for Shelly Sterling said these were Donald’s owners who lost the case.

"“…Not surprisingly, Donald stiffed them.” Shelly’s attorney Pierce O’Donnell said. “In our legal system, the winners do not pay the loser’s legal fees.”"

Donald Sterling’s current attorney did not return a request for comment to the Times. However, another lawyer on the ex-owner’s team, Maxwell Blecher, told the Times he had “no similar issues” with payment.

Sterling paid a $75,000 retainer in June 2014 for the firms Bloom & Ruttenberg and Ginzburg & Bronshteyn to join his legal team in the high-profile trial. The Bloom & Ruttenberg firm is owed $185,138.84 plus interest, while Ginzburg & Bronshteyn is due $86,240 plus interest, according to the Times.

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This latest lawsuit from the two firms serves as another reminder about Donald Sterling’s questionable character.

Beyond this lawsuit, the former Clippers owner is still fighting the sale of the franchise.

Sterling is currently appealing the March dismissal of a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Commissioner Adam Silver, his wife and others. The March lawsuit alleges a conspiracy to strip Sterling of his ownership of the Clippers.

It seems like Sterling will not go away. His legal troubles continue haunting a franchise that has already moved on without him.

Sterling should take his $1 billion from the sale of the Clippers and resume his life. Either way, the ex-Clippers owner can not access those funds until the lawsuit against the NBA is resolved.

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The dollars remain in an NBA-controlled escrow account because Shelly Sterling indemnified the league against litigation by her husband.

Nonetheless, it is clear Sterling does not just have legal troubles with the NBA.

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