Former Suns owners sues ex-business partners
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Former Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner Robert Sarver in 2021. Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Former Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner Robert Sarver is suing his ex-real estate business partners, alleging that they unfairly pushed him out of their business ventures.
Why it matters: The lawsuit is the latest fallout from Sarver's polarizing tenure as Suns owner — and the controversies that brought it to an end.
Catch up quick: The NBA began investigating Sarver in 2021 over workplace misconduct allegations that included racism, misogyny and sexual harassment.
- The league suspended Sarver the following year after the investigation substantiated allegations against him, and he sold the teams to current owner Mat Ishbia.
State of play: Sarver filed a lawsuit in federal court last week against former partners Mark Schlossberg and Cary Mack.
- He also sued Southwest Value Partners, the real estate investment firm he co-founded in 1990 and that Schlossberg and Mack are still part of, along with several related business entities.
- He seeks to recoup money he says he was unfairly deprived of due to a "corporate maneuver designed to sever Mr. Sarver's contractual rights."
Zoom in: According to the lawsuit, Schlossberg and Mack asked Sarver to temporarily resign from Southwest Value Partners' investment advisory board because they felt that allegations against him as owner of the Suns and Mercury would harm their fundraising abilities and relationships with investors.
- Sarver agreed with the understanding that he'd be able to return, and they signed an agreement affirming his right to participate in future rounds of fundraising, per the lawsuit.
- But Schlossberg and Mack dissolved a business entity that held interests in Southwest Value Partners' more-than-$1 billion mixed-use development in Nashville and transferred the ownership rights to themselves, the lawsuit said.
- Sarver alleges that the dissolution violated his contractual rights and was intended to sideline him.
What they're saying: "The enterprise continues. Yet Mr. Sarver does not receive his rightful share of any of it," the lawsuit said.
The other side: Southwest Value Partners called Sarver's lawsuit "groundless" and said his claims are "without merit."
- "We are confident that when this matter concludes it will clearly illustrate we have acted properly and in the best interests of our investors and partners," they say in a statement to Axios.
What's next: The defendants haven't yet filed a response to Sarver's lawsuit and no court dates have been filed.