Jamie McCourt earned a large victory in her divorce case on Tuesday when Judge Scott Gordon ruled that the marital property agreement signed by her and husband Frank in 2004 is invalid so until any appeals or future rulings take place, Jamie is no longer shut out of any ownership claim to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The couple’s divorce has been nasty from the beginning with allegations of wrong doing on the part of Frank and marital infidelity on the part of Jamie. Frank actually evicted Jamie from her stadium office after he fired her from her executive position.

The whole time, in the middle of this fight sat the power and money grab for the Dodgers, the largest asset belonging to the couple.

Judge Gordon’s ruling, as reported in the L.A. Times read:

“The court finds that the marital property agreement is not a valid and enforceable agreement,” Gordon wrote in his ruling. “The court orders that the marital property agreement is set aside.”

During her case, Jamie McCourt said she was entitled to co-ownership of the team and that was bolstered after the testimony of the couple’s former attorney in Massachusetts. The attorney drafted a property agreement while the Dodgers purchase was grinding through its final stage and that, according to his testimony in the divorce trial, was supposed to give Frank control of all the business assets.

Jamie reportedly wanted to separate the couple’s real estate holdings in fear that business creditors might attach their homes in an attempt to get at their assets. The attorney botched the most important schedule to the agreement that set forth what was supposed to state the sole assets of Frank McCourt.  The couple signed documents that were incorrect in part and unbeknownst to them, a revised attachment was inserted into copies of the agreement.

Only last month Jamie refused to accept a proposal by a court-ordered mediator to settle the dispute. Now we know why. In the end, the judge agreed with David Boies, lead counsel for Jamie, that the intent of the couple was unable to be determined with the dueling versions of the contract.

Used with permission of the author.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles. 

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Major news has surrounded Dodgertown over the past two weeks.

While Manny Ramirez has vacated his home in Mannywood heading to the Windy City, so ends his controversy-filled two-year roller-coaster ride with the Dodgers.

On Monday, the Dodgers’ much-publicized version of “War of the Roses” divorce trial got underway in downtown Los Angeles where Frank and Jamie McCourt, with the help of their high-priced attorneys, began slugging it out over who owns the team.

On a brighter note, legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully will return to the booth for the 2011 season, and that will be his 62nd with the club.  Scully will continue to call all games at Dodger Stadium and all National League West road games. He will not be traveling, however, east of Denver.

Nestled between all this Dodgers news is another question, ‘Will Joe Torre return as manager next season?’

Torre, whose three-year, $13 million contract expires at the end of this season, recently stated he would decide on a return sometime around Labor Day but said he wouldn’t announce that decision until the team’s playoff fate is sealed.  With the way the Dodgers have been playing of late, expect that decision to come sooner rather than later.

Talk around the Dodger Stadium clubhouse have indicated that Torre won’t be back in 2011 but who can blame him.  The negative atmosphere around this McCourt owned team has made working for the late George Steinbrenner look like a party.

While Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly has been thought to be the likely successor to Torre, this no longer seems to be the case. We say that because in an interesting twist, SI.com’s Jon Heyman told Fox Sports Radio’s “The Petros and Money Show” yesterday that Mattingly is off the list because he was a favorite of Jamie. Heyman also mentioned that former Dodger and manager of the Dodgers’ AAA affiliate in Albuquerque, Tim Wallach, is a leading candidate to succeed Torre.

So the circus at Chavez Ravine gets even more interesting.  Stay tuned…

Used with permission of the author.

Chris Lardieri covers the Los Angeles Dodgers for Examiner.com and has written about Major League Baseball for Inside Edge, a scouting company that provides content to ESPN Insider and Yahoo Sports. He previously wrote for 1766, the Rutgers Alumni Magazine, and popular blog, ‘The Outer Loop’.  Be sure to follow Chris on Twitter for more MLB and sports observations.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC