LA Clippers' future hangs on judge's decision

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles Clippers are exciting and energetic on the basketball court. But, inside an L.A. County courtroom, the legal wranglings over the future of the team are not as action-packed.

The latest issue at hand is whether or not Shelly Sterling did the right thing when she removed Donald Sterling from the Sterling Family Trust that controls the Clippers.

Shelly's attorneys are hoping a probate court judge will validate that she followed the trust's provisions appropriately when she removed Donald as an administrator. Her decision came after two doctors ruled that he was "lacking mental capacity" and suffering from dementia. The doctors said Donald allegedly showed an "inability to conduct business affairs in a reasonable and normal manner."

If Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Levanas approves Donald's removal, the Los Angeles Clippers would then be sold to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for a record $2 billion.

Attorneys for both Ballmer and the NBA wanted a probate judge to sign off on the method that Shelly used to take control of the family trust.

Donald's attorneys plan to fight against the way the embattled owner was removed from the Sterling Family Trust. They argued that there are inconsistencies with the two doctors cited in Shelly's legal findings. They also said a provision of the trust that

allows outside evidence, including rebuttal testimony from other doctors, was wrongfully removed from the trust last year.

"We think that there are some serious issues with the trust documents itself, with the way the examinations were done, particularly with our client's medical records being disseminated to the entire world," Donald Sterling's attorney, Bobby Samini, said.

The mercurial billionaire's problems began in April when a recording of him making racially-charged comments was made public. In the audio recording, Donald urged his purported love interest, V. Stiviano, not to bring black people to Clippers games or post photos of herself with black friends on her Instagram account.

Donald was consequently banned from the NBA and ordered to sell his team, but the 80-year-old has refused and is suing the NBA.

Levanas has asked lawyers for more legal documents arguing their points before a trial on the issue begins on July 7.

"I think the judge was clear, he said 'Hey, we need more input from both sides,'" Samini said.

Both parties will return to court on June 30. That's when the judge is expected to rule on the scope of the trial, including how many witnesses will be called and what evidence will be allowed.

The deadline for the sale of the team is July 15.

The Associated Press and CNS contributed to this report.