12 Years After Filing Suit, Jury to Decide Fight Over Sale of Houston Astros

A Harris County jury on Thursday will begin the job of determining whether Jim Crane was duped into paying too much to buy the Houston Astros from the prior owner in 2011. 

Jury selection began this week, and opening statements are expected to come Thursday morning in the trial, which is scheduled to last three weeks. Houston Baseball Partners, the entity created to buy the Astros, sued former owner Drayton McLane, his company McLane Champions and media giant Comcast in 2013, claiming the defendants’ lies and deceptions caused them to pay far too much when they bought the Major League Baseball team and a stake in Houston Regional Sports Network in for $615 million.