True scumbag Jeffrey Loria treated the good people of Miami to one final insult on his way out of town, using tricky accounting to avoid paying Miami-Dade County an agreed-upon share of the profits from his sale of the team. Now it appears Miami-Dade is suing his sorry ass. From a Miami Herald report:
Claiming accounting that is both “fuzzy” and “self-serving,” Miami-Dade is suing Jeffrey Loria over his attempt to pay nothing from a 2009 agreement that entitles the county to a share of profits from last fall’s $1.2 billion sale of the Miami Marlins.
Loria claimed a $140 million paper loss on the October transaction, based on the calculations allowed under the original deal with Miami-Dade and Miami attached to public financing for construction of the $615 million Marlins Park complex.
“We will see Mr. Loria in court,” Mayor Carlos Gimenez said Friday night.
In a delicious twist, the lawsuit reportedly lists Derek Jeter’s ownership group as a defendant, based upon the claim that “the Jeter entity is ‘contractually responsible’ to cover disputes tied to Loria’s profit calculations.” A condition of the sale of the team had Loria setting aside $50 million in proceeds “to cover any claims from Jeter and partners as the buyers,” which I guess would include Miami-Dade’s share of profits from the sale. The new Marlins ownership group is attempting to distance the team from the matter:
On Friday night, the Marlins issued a statement labeling the dispute as one that’s exclusively between Loria and the local governments that negotiated the 2009 deal with him. The statement revealed that Jeter and partners negotiated a clause with Loria designed to free the incoming owners from exposure to any profit-sharing claims from the city and the county.
“This claim has absolutely nothing to do with the ownership group,” the statement read. “We expect the previous ownership and the County to resolve this dispute in an expeditious manner.”
The lawsuit claims Loria both badly overstated the value of the team and overstated his debt and cash contributions to the franchise, and demands “proof of the significant payouts and loans claimed by Loria.” The suit also cites leaked Marlins financial data published by Deadspin in 2010, showing that Loria was using shady profit calculations in 2008 and 2009 in order to cry poverty.
The city of Miami is also reportedly also planning on suing Loria. Frankly, I too would like to sue him. I am for him being sued by everyone, all the time, forever.