Janie and Joey Buss are asking a Los Angeles judge to throw out their sister Jeanie Buss' legal challenge to the planned sale of the family trust's remaining Lakers stake, a filing that pushes an already bitter sibling standoff over billions of dollars in team equity toward a December courtroom showdown.
The co-trustees filed their response in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, asking the court to dismiss Jeanie's petition or deny it entirely, according to the Los Angeles Times. The filing argues the Buss Family Trust gives trustees no discretion to ignore a valid vote to terminate it, and that Janie and Joey were authorized and required to carry out the majority's decision.
Five Siblings Vote to Sell, One Abstains
The dispute traces back to August, when a majority of the living Buss siblings voted to terminate the family trust, a move that triggered the trust's termination clause and set the stage for a sale of its remaining Lakers shares. Five of the six siblings voted to sell, and that vote is what set the legal fight in motion, per the same Los Angeles Times report.
Jeanie Buss, the Lakers' longtime controlling governor, did not join them. According to The Athletic, her five siblings voted 5-0 to exercise a tag-along right the family had secured when it sold majority control to Mark Walter, while Jeanie abstained. The Athletic also reports the family retained that tag-along right specifically so it could join any future sale of the team.
Jeanie Cites a 2017 Court Order
Jeanie argues her siblings cannot terminate the trust and sell the remaining 17.82% stake in the team without her approval. Her position leans on a 2017 court order that installed Janie and Joey as co-trustees and directed them to take reasonably available steps to support her annual election as the Lakers' controlling governor, a role Jerry Buss had chosen for her after his death in 2013, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Janie and Joey's lawyers counter that the 2017 order never barred a sale of the team or a termination of the trust, and that it named voting the trust's shares as a reasonable action rather than restricting it. Their filing also disputes that the order required the trust to hold onto a 15% Lakers stake to satisfy NBA eligibility rules for minority owners sitting on the league's board of governors.
What the Stake Is Worth Now
The numbers at stake are enormous. Mark Walter bought controlling ownership of the Lakers from the Buss siblings in a transaction that closed in October 2025, then reached an agreement in summer 2026 to sell his shares to venture capitalist Joshua Kushner and former Disney chief executive Bob Iger in a proposed deal at a record $12.5 billion valuation, per the Los Angeles Times. Patch reported the earlier 2025 deal with Walter closed at a then-record $10 billion valuation, ending more than 40 years of majority Buss family ownership of the team.
At the newer $12.5 billion figure, the family's remaining 17.82% stake would be worth about $2.2 billion, a number confirmed separately by the Daily Breeze. The five siblings who voted to sell have said they hope to maximize value for all six beneficiaries, including Jeanie, by exercising the tag-along provision negotiated during the Walter sale.
Legal Arguments Still Taking Shape
The trustees' duties are part of the legal dispute. Sportico notes their duties to the trust include maximizing its value for the benefit of the Buss children, a framing that could bolster their argument that selling at the $12.5 billion valuation serves everyone's interest. CNBC has previously reported that the underlying dispute hinges on whether preserving Jeanie's role as controlling governor requires the trust to maintain at least a 15% ownership stake in the team.
A hearing on Jeanie's petition is scheduled for December 8, the Los Angeles Times reports. It remains unclear whether the proposed sale has closed or received NBA approval, and the final ownership breakdown if the trust's shares do change hands has not been established in court filings reported so far.
Meanwhile, the Lakers themselves are moving forward on the court. Jeanie Buss attended the team's home preseason opener on October 8, and the Lakers are set to open their regular season against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena on October 21 — a reminder that the on-court product continues even as the ownership fight plays out in a Los Angeles courtroom.
