Belkin, Spirit team feuding again Ex-Hawks, Thrashers partner suing over appraisal of his stakes up for sale By TIM TUCKER , BOB KEMPER The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 01/07/06 Here we go again. The bitter battle within the Hawks and Thrashers ownership group appeared to end in August, when Steve Belkin agreed to sell his stake in the teams to his partners. But now the feuding owners are back in court, this time battling over terms of their still-pending divorce. Belkin, who took his partners to court in Massachusetts during the summer, has filed a new lawsuit against them in Maryland, alleging "a concerted campaign . . . to pay him substantially less than fair market value" for his stake in the teams. The August agreement called for the price of Belkin's 30 percent interest to be determined by a series of independent appraisals. The new lawsuit centers around a dispute over those appraisals and contends Belkin should have the right to buy a controlling interest in the teams, rather than to sell, if his co-owners don't complete the buyout by mid-February. Asked Friday if there's a chance Belkin winds up buying out his partners, rather than vice versa, co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. said: "There is no chance, period." Belkin responded to requests for comment with an e-mail: "Sorry but I am not giving any comments at this time about the lawsuit." The co-owners named as defendants in the suit — Bruce Levenson, Ed Peskowitz, Gearon and Rutherford Seydel — have not yet submitted their answer to the latest legal salvo, which was filed this week in Montgomery County Circuit Court in Rockville, Md. The case has been assigned to Judge Eric Johnson, who held a conference with lawyers in his chambers on Friday. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 24. "We do not think it appropriate to respond in the media to Steve Belkin's version of events as characterized in his latest legal action," Levenson said. "We will file an answer and are confident justice will be served in the court in Maryland, just as it was ultimately served in a Boston courtroom in August." In that highly publicized case, a judge ultimately allowed Belkin's partners to replace him as the Hawks' NBA governor, clearing the way for a controversial trade that Belkin had opposed for guard Joe Johnson. Belkin then agreed to sell his stake in the teams to his partners for a price to be set by up to three appraisals. Belkin's new lawsuit contends the first appraisal — conducted by a firm of his choosing, The Citigroup Private Bank, and completed on Nov. 23 — was "grossly undervalued" because of interference by his co-owners. The lawsuit claims Levenson, Peskowitz and Gearon "threatened and harassed" the bank and provided "false and misleading information." After objecting to the first appraisal, Belkin retained J. P. Morgan Securities to perform a second appraisal, which was completed Dec. 17, according to the lawsuit. His partners refuse to recognize this apparently higher appraisal, contending they -– not Belkin –- were entitled to select the second appraiser. Under the August agreement, if the first two appraisals did not lead to an agreement on price, a third appraisal was to be conducted by an investment bank chosen in a drawing by the NBA. Belkin's lawsuit contends the deadline for hiring a third appraiser passed on Dec. 30 and that the Dec. 17 appraisal should stand. The court documents do not disclose the value put on the franchises and Philips Arena operating rights by either appraisal conducted thus far. However, Belkin's most recent court filing discloses that he estimated the value of the three assets at $500 million in August. When Time Warner sold the teams and arena rights in 2003, it valued the deal at $250 million. The latest legal battle is being waged in Maryland because the August buyout agreement stipulated any disputes would be litigated there. Levenson and Peskowitz own a business information company based in Rockville, Md. Belkin began this round of the legal war with a complaint filed on Nov. 22. His partners answered on Dec. 14, saying that the first appraisal was "breathtakingly generous" by a firm "handpicked" by Belkin and that Belkin "now seeks to . . . hijack the appraisal process" and take "sole authority" for selecting the appraisers. In the December filing, the defendants denied Belkin's allegation that they "threatened, harassed or otherwise sought to unfairly influence" Citigroup's appraisal. "In fact . . . it was Belkin that sought unfairly to influence Citigroup's appraisal," the defendants said. Belkin filed his most recent, amended complaint on Wednesday. It asks the court to find that the Dec. 17 appraisal is binding, that the defendants have 60 days from that date to complete the purchase of Belkin's stake and that, if they fail to do so, they be required to sell out to him for an amount equal to their "aggregate contributed capital" in the venture. --

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