Belkin attempts a reverse buyout Estranged partner says other owners should sell their shares to him By TIM TUCKER The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 03/07/06 Could Steve Belkin, whose deal to depart the Hawks and Thrashers' ownership group drew applause from employees last summer, wind up as sole owner of the teams? Yes, he suggests in a new court motion In the latest twist to an ever-deepening legal quagmire, Belkin contends that a recent ruling by a Maryland judge means he should have the right to buy out his partners at cost. The motion asks the Maryland court to enter a judgment declaring, among other things, that Belkin's partners "failed and refused" to complete the buyout of his stake under the prescribed timetable, and that Belkin therefore "shall purchase all of the interests" held by his partners "for a price equal to [their] aggregate contributed capital." In other words, the argument goes, the other owners would get back the money they have put in — about $31 million to date — and Belkin would get the teams. Not so fast, the other owners say. "The earlier ruling in the case is just one step in a continuing litigation," part-owner Michael Gearon Jr. said Monday. "At this stage in the process, the court has not addressed, nor has there been any evidence introduced regarding, Belkin's allegations that we have breached the agreement and that he can buy out [the] Atlanta and Washington[-based owners] for cost. "The allegations are completely without merit, and we are fully confident that we will prevail on those issues," Gearon said. Belkin declined comment. "As he has said in the past, he's not going to make any comments until this legal case is resolved," his assistant said Monday. The latest legal wrangling stems from a Feb. 24 hearing in Montgomery County (Md.) Circuit Court. At that hearing, Judge Eric Johnson heard arguments about which side — Belkin or the partners who agreed last summer to purchase his stake — had the right to choose the second appraiser in a series of up to three appraisals designed to determine the buyout price. The judge found in Belkin's favor and asked Belkin's attorneys to submit a proposed order "reflective" of the ruling. The judge then signed a succinct order submitted by Belkin's attorneys, granting Belkin's motion "as to Count I." Now the other owners — principally the Atlanta-based Gearon and the Washington-based Bruce Levenson and Ed Peskowitz — have filed a motion asking the court to vacate and revise its order because "Count I" went beyond the "narrow" issue before the court on Feb. 24. "Not only has the plaintiff [Belkin] overreached in its proposed order, but it has put the court in the position of committing clear and obvious error," lawyers for Gearon, Levenson and Peskowitz state in their most recent motion. While the Feb. 24 arguments were confined to the issue of who had the right to choose the second appraiser, "Count I" of Belkin's lawsuit also includes his contentions that his partners had waived their right to a third appraisal and that if they did not complete the buyout within 60 days of Dec. 17 then Belkin should have the right to purchase their stakes for an amount equal to their investment. Dec. 17 was the date on which J.P. Morgan Securities, retained by Belkin to do the second appraisal, submitted its report. A 60-day window would have expired one week before the Feb. 24 court hearing. One legal question, among many, is whether the time frames were frozen while the dispute over the validity of the second appraiser was being litigated. The owners other than Belkin had a total of about $31.4 million invested in the teams as of Jan. 25, according to an affidavit filed on that date by Levenson. Belkin has about $11.7 million invested, according to the same affidavit. The owners have far less capital invested than the $250 million sales price announced by Time Warner when it sold the teams and Philips Arena operating rights in 2004. That is largely because the announced price included the teams' long-term liabilities, including $142 million in arena debt that is paid from Hawks revenue. The amount of the two appraisals conducted thus far of Belkin's approximately 30 percent stake have not been revealed because of a confidentiality clause. However, less specific statements in court suggest the appraisals are many times larger than Belkin's $11.7 million investment. His lawyers have said the second appraisal came in 40 to 60 percent higher than the first, and the other owners' lawyers described the first as "grossly excessive." One of Belkin's lawyers said in court that "hundreds of millions" of dollars could be at stake. The Maryland court has not indicated when it will act on the latest motions, although it appears certain there will be appeals and further litigation. 資料來源 http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0307belkin.html -- Fu@k you, Belkin. --

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