Sports · Basketball · 1 hr ago
Buss siblings challenge Jeanie Buss's effort to block Lakers stake sale
Joey and Janie Buss filed a court response in Los Angeles in a dispute with their sister, Lakers acting governor Jeanie Buss.
They argue that the family trust allowed a vote to sell its Lakers stake and that the siblings' vote met the required two-thirds threshold.
The filing also challenges Jeanie's authority as a co-trustee and says a 2017 court order did not require the trust to remain in place.
Jeanie has asked the court to block the sale and remove Joey and Janie as co-trustees.
The siblings want to sell the family's remaining 17.82% stake to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger's group, which agreed to buy it at a $12.5 billion team valuation.
The court dispute continues as the proposed sale awaits an NBA board vote, which is expected in November.
Joey and Janie Buss filed an opposition in Los Angeles Superior Court to Jeanie Buss’s effort to remove them as co-trustees of the Lakers family trust.
The filing challenges Jeanie’s authority and argues that Joey and Janie were entitled to vote on selling the family’s remaining Lakers stake.
The siblings’ 5-1 vote backed a sale to an ownership group led by Josh Kushner and Bob Iger.
The filing argues that a $12.5 billion valuation would maximize value for the trust’s beneficiaries.
The dispute follows Jeanie’s August petition to block the sale and void the siblings’ vote.
- Who
- Joey and Janie Buss filed the challenge against their sister, Jeanie Buss.
- What
- They oppose her petition to remove them as co-trustees and argue that their vote to sell the family’s remaining Lakers stake was valid.
- When
- The filing was submitted Friday, Oct. 16, 2026.
- Where
- Los Angeles Superior Court.
- Why
- They argue that the trust authorized their vote and that selling at a $12.5 billion valuation would maximize value for its beneficiaries.
Joey and Janie Buss
Jeanie Buss
Authority to vote
Joey and Janie Buss
They argue they had authority to vote on a sale and that the trust required a two-thirds majority, which the siblings’ vote exceeded.
Jeanie Buss
She petitioned to remove Joey and Janie as co-trustees and to void the siblings’ 5-1 sale vote.
Sale of the stake
Joey and Janie Buss
They support selling the family’s remaining stake to the Kushner and Iger group, arguing a $12.5 billion valuation would maximize value for trust beneficiaries.
Jeanie Buss
She sought to block the sale of the family’s stake.
Jeanie Buss submitted a petition seeking to block the sale and remove Joey and Janie as co-trustees.
All five siblings filed an opposition arguing they could terminate the trust and sell the family’s remaining stake.
Joey and Janie filed a further opposition in Los Angeles Superior Court.
- Filing length
- 29 pages
- Family’s remaining stake
- 17.82% of the Lakers
- Sibling vote
- 5-1 in favor of a sale
- Proposed buyers
- Josh Kushner and Bob Iger’s ownership group
- Franchise valuation
- $12.5 billion
3 sources
What people are saying
This dispute turns on (1) who had the authority to decide whether the Trust would continue, (2) what event would terminate it, and (3) what the Trustee Respondents were required to do once that event occurred
The Trust's text unambiguously answers each question.
It does not require the Trust to remain in existence for Jeanie's lifetime ... or require the Trust to maintain any minimum ownership percentage