In the sports showdown consuming Dallas, it will be Winstead PC representing the Dallas Stars in the litigation against the Jackson Walker-represented Dallas Mavericks.
On Tuesday morning, the Dallas Mavericks ownership filed a 31-page lawsuit, with 221 pages of exhibits, against the ownership of the Dallas Stars in a dispute involving the American Airlines Center. Hours later, the Stars ownership hit back by filing a 17-page counterclaim with 22 pages of exhibits, submitted by Joshua M. Sandler, Cory C. Johnson, John David Janicek, and Andrew J. Patterson of Winstead.
Jackson Walker partners Charles “Chip” Babcock and Chris Bankler and associate Sarah Starr are representing the Dallas Sports Group and Radical Arena in the litigation against DSE Hockey Club.
The litigation will unfold before Judge Bill Whitehill, who presides over the Texas Business Court First Division in Dallas.
The Mavericks told the court they were filing suit to enforce the terms of partnership contracts the teams signed nearly 25 years ago.
“Pursuant to those contracts, the Mavericks and the Stars jointly owned the companies that lease the American Airlines Center from the City of Dallas and run and operate the American Airlines Center,” the lawsuit alleges.
“But the Stars relinquished their rights in that partnership when they breached their contracts with the City of Dallas and uprooted their headquarters to Frisco, Texas. The governing agreements could not be clearer: when one partner breaches its contractual commitment to stay in Dallas, the other is empowered to redeem that partner’s interest.”
The Stars called the lawsuit “an attempted hostile takeover,” where the Mavericks are trying to “invoke a relocation provision in the company agreements of the entities which operate the American Airlines Center to redeem the Stars’ ownership interest in those entities and eliminate [the Stars ownership group’s] derivative ownership of the AAC lease for a mere $110 in case.”
The counterclaim seeks a declaration from the court that “no relocation event occurred” as defined in the agreements. The Stars told the court that “only the city may assert a breach of the Stars franchise agreement.”
The Dallas Morning News has extensive coverage of this lawsuit, the counterclaim and the underlying issues that led to its filing.
The case number is 25-BC01B-0049.