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Bill Shaikin went through the Frank and Jamie McCourt divorce filings, heard from the lawyers and turned up some interesting kernels that could loom larger in the legal fight that will likely determne who owns the Dodgers. In the L.A. Times:
- Jamie has lined up financing to buy the Dodgers and wants to acquire the team, says her lawyer Bert Fields: "Whatever it takes to buy Frank McCourt out, she's got."
- Saucy retort from Frank's lawyer, Marshall Grossman: "Perhaps she could explore some other sport."
- Frank's filing says Jamie was fired in part for having an affair with her driver. Frank's lawyers allege "the two spent 2 1/2 weeks in France this summer and billed the team for the trip." Fields acknowledges Jamie is romantically involved with Jeff Fuller, but insists it began after the McCourts separated and that no trip was billed to the team.
- Dodgers President Dennis Mannion said in the filing that Jamie did not show up for work more than half the time and "exhibited an almost disdainful disregard for the fundamental requirements of her job and workplace etiquette." Fields says, however, that "when people find out what she did as opposed to what [Frank] did, they're all going to want her to run the team."
- The court scheduled a Nov. 5 hearing on Jamie's bid for immediate reinstatement as Dodgers CEO and a Dec. 1 hearing to discuss spousal support and other issues pending trial.
Will that be the civil trial of the decade in L.A.? Shaikin also has a story from New York saying baseball commissioner Bud Selig was "visibly agitated" when asked about the McCourts before tonight's World Series game. I'll bet he was.
Thanks!: To Ed Fuentes for the inspired new McCourts logo.