Court Date Set in Dodgers' Ownerhip/Divorce Battle

James Brolin, Barbra Streisand, Jamie McCourt, Frank McCourt

LOS ANGELES -- The question of who really owns the Los Angeles Dodgers will drag into the 2010 season, as a judge Tuesday set a late May trial date for the divorce case between Frank and Jamie McCourt.

Trial on the ownership issue will take place between May 24 and June 3.

Frank McCourt's lawyers say Jamie is trying to "place a cloud of ownership over the Dodgers."

In a statement after the hearing, Dennis Wasser, Jamie's lawyer, alleged "Frank McCourt has "RAIDS, Recently Acquired Income Deficiency Syndrome."

Thus far, McCourt has not produced any 2009 income statements. "More bombshells will occur in this case," Wasser said, adding that they believe Frank McCourt has been spending personal income not on his family or the Dodgers.

Frank McCourt's attorney, Marc Seltzer, called Wasser's allegations about Mr. McCourt's spending "out of left field" and said that that their side has produced more than 35,000 documents relating to Frank McCourt's finances.

Seltzer said the case is a "obviously a distraction to [Dodgers] management."

The judge set a May 24 trial date to decide whether the Dodgers are Frank's separate property or are owned jointly by the couple.

The McCourts purchased the Dodgers from FOX in a highly leveraged 2003 deal for $430 million. They have been married since 1979 and have four adult children. The divorce became public on the eve of Game 1 of the NLCS between the Philadelphia Phillies and Dodgers.