On Friday, January 21, the members of the ownership group of the Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Thrashers, and Philips Arena filed a lawsuit against King & Spalding, the firm which has represented them for the past five years.
SSG Group, LPF Atlanta and HTPA Holding Co., which own 97% Atlanta Spirit and therefore the above entities, filed suit based upon a "fatally flawed" contract designed to buy out minority owner Steve Belkin, who has been in a battle with the rest of the ownership group since 2005.
The plaintiffs are alleging that the King & Spalding drew up a “fatally flawed” contract that was intended to buy out the interest of Belkin, but was ultimately found to be unenforceable.
The suit also claims that the contract flaws caused the plaintiff companies – which own 97 percent of Atlanta Spirit, the company that owns the Hawks and the Thrashers – to be sued in Maryland where, the suit alleges, King & Spalding “improperly represented them despite serious and undisclosed conflicts of interest.”
As a result, the plaintiffs have spent more than $14.5 million defending their interests, clouded the title to the sports franchise and prevented them from selling the Atlanta Thrashers, the suit claims. Furthermore, the matter with Belkin is still a pending issue due to the voiding of the contract, further complicating any potential personnel moves of both the Hawks and the Thrashers.
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