(CNN) — Donald Sterling has filed a new civil lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeking damages from his wife, the NBA and NBA commissioner Adam Silver in their attempt to sell the the L.A. Clippers for $2 billion to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
Court documents filed Tuesday call the potential sale “unlawful” and “fraudulent,” and ask for an injunction to block the sale.
“Donald’s latest lawsuit is a frivolous, last ditch act of desperation by a delusional, bitter man,” said Pierce O’Donnell, an attorney for Sterling’s estranged wife, Shelly.
“This action shows once more how obsessed he is with ruining a record-setting $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Clippers — a sale that would solve the problems his racist rant started three months ago.”
Donald Sterling came under fire for making racist remarks against African-Americans in comments to his companion V. Stiviano. The recorded phone call was published online.
In response, the NBA banned Sterling for life, fined him $2.5 million and ordered that the team be sold.
Sterling, in turn, sued the league for $1 billion for alleged antitrust violations in its handling of the matter.
After Shelly Sterling had her 80-year-old husband declared mentally incapacitated by two physicians, she took over the Sterling Family Trust that owns the team.
Donald Sterling, an attorney and real estate investor, has early Alzheimer’s or another brain disease, the doctors said.
But Donald Sterling and his attorneys dispute he’s incapacitated.
An ongoing court hearing in Los Angeles will determine if Shelly Sterling properly wrested control of the franchise from her husband.
Donald Sterling revoked the family trust back in June, and Tuesday’s lawsuit contends that the move reverted the Clippers back to his sole ownership and therefore, Shelly Sterling has no power or right to sell the team. All the stock for the franchise was issued in his name.
No trial date has been set for the case to be heard, and it’s unclear how long Ballmer will be willing to keep his offer on the table as the Sterling saga continues.
Donald Sterling has said he believes the team may be worth twice the record $2 billion price his wife negotiated with Ballmer, said Maxwell Blecher, another attorney for Sterling.
