Legal snafu leads court to reject Sterling request to block Clippers sale; refiling possible

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An appellate court has refused to consider Donald Sterling’s request to block the $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer but, caught in an extraordinary legal snafu, the court says Sterling could file the request again.

In a purely procedural move, Superior Court Judge Michael Levanas withdrew his final statement of decision in the probate case between Sterling and his estranged wife Shelly Sterling over the impending sale of the team.

The reason was a series of miscommunications between the judge and the lawyers for Donald Sterling who had asked on Thursday for more time to file objections to his ruling. A member of Shelly Sterling’s legal team says the judge has given them until next Wednesday to file objections.

The end result is that Friday’s events were a dress rehearsal for a legal drama likely to be concluded next week.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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