Sterling trial gets underway after delay

Associated Press







Platzer was the first witness to testify in a trial to determine whether Sterling’s wife was authorized under a family trust to single-handedly make the deal to sell the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Her lawyers actually called Donald Sterling to the stand first, but he wasn’t in the courthouse and was ordered to appear when the nonjury trial resumes in Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon.

Earlier, a federal judge rejected a bid by Donald Sterling’s lawyers to move the case to federal court.

Donald Sterling’s attorneys argued that their client was induced to undergo mental examination under false pretenses and that his private, personal medical records were given to his wife’s “hand-picked” doctors in violation of federal medical privacy laws.




Donald Sterling’s probate lawyer, Gary Ruttenberg, hammered away at the need for a postponement.

“We’ve been railroaded as quickly as possible into a trial where we have very little discovery,” he said. “We have not had adequate time to prepare.”

O’Donnell replied that the issue had been disposed of earlier, and the judge denied his motion to delay the case. Ruttenberg threatened to object to every question asked by O’Donnell on the same grounds. The judge said he would note that Donald Sterling’s lawyers object to every question.

Speaking in a packed courtroom, Ruttenberg said: “This case reads like a Hollywood soap opera. I’ve called it ‘a tale of two Sterlings.'”


NBA owners are scheduled to vote on the sale to Ballmer on July 15. That’s also the day his offer is set to expire — and there is no deal without the judge’s approval of the sale.



Tami Abdollah can be followed at


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