Tampa Bay Rays partners sue majority owner Stuart Sternberg

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https://theathletic.com/news/tampa-bay-rays-partners-sue-majority-owner-stuart-sternberg/CxapxF85tkgd

 

 

Five minority owners of the Tampa Bay Rays are suing majority owner Stuart Sternberg, alleging he has engaged in "a relentless scheme" to "squeeze" them out and take control of the franchise.

 

The 24-page complaint, which was filed in Florida state court on Saturday, alleges Sternberg has been "secretly negotiating to sell an interest" in the team to Canadian businessman Stephen Bronfman and his Montreal Baseball Group.

 

"Insultingly, based on information and belief, these secret negotiations have been going on since the spring of 2014," the suit says. That is three years earlier than when Sternberg publicly said he started negotiations with the Canadian group about playing games there.

 

The suit, which also alleges side deals, falsifying records and secret transactions, asks the court to strip Sternberg of his general partnership and to appoint a receiver to review the partnership’s finances.

 

“Sternberg, since becoming the managing partner in 2005, had never held a partner's meeting, nor had he ever made distributions to partners,” the lawsuit alleges. “In early 2020, the Plaintiffs demanded a meeting with Sternberg to discuss taxes and distributions due to the fact that they had been allocated more than $150 million in taxable income in 2017-2019 and no distribution had been made.”

 

The suit was filed by Robert Kleinert, Gary Markel, Stephen M. Waters and a trust with his name, and the MacDougald Family Limited Partnership, LLLP. They collectively own 9.6 percent of the team. Sternberg owns 85 percent, the lawsuit said.