McCourts reach temporary spousal support deal

LOS ANGELES

The McCourts appeared in a downtown Los Angeles courthouse on Wednesday in another episode of their divorce battle over ownership of the team.

Frank McCourt was paying an additional $412,159 a month for the mortgages of six luxurious homes and a condominium, but that money will now come from an account created after the sale of a home near the Playboy Mansion.

McCourt filed a motion in July saying that he has paid his ex-wife roughly $7.7 million over the past year. He said the payments should be more in line with the $5 million he receives annually.

However, his ex-wife contends that her ex-husband has enough to pay. She notes in a recent filing that her ex-husband has received more than $44 million into his bank accounts since June 2010.

"He just got a loan from Major League Baseball of $150 million and he's crying poverty?" said her attorney, Dennis Wasser. "Our client can't afford to be paying the lifestyle that they had, and that's the law. Pending the trial, the status quo is what governs."

As the battle continues in court, on the field and in the stands the Dodgers are suffering.

Attendance is slumping. In 2009, the Dodgers had the highest average attendance rate in the country. Just two years later they've dropped to 10th in their attendance rate - a 20 percent reduction.

The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware last month, blaming a cash-flow crisis on MLB's Baseball's refusal to approve a multibillion-dollar TV deal McCourt was counting on to keep the franchise afloat.

MLB assumed control of the club's day-to-day operations in mid-April.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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