Mark Cuban goes to court for records on Dallas Mavericks’ Valley View

Mark Cuban has taken his increasingly public dispute with Dallas Mavericks majority owner Patrick Dumont to court, accusing his business partner of shutting him out of the team’s plans for a new arena and other lucrative development opportunities.

A new court filing alleges Dumont engaged in “adversarial business practices” and asks a Dallas County judge to force the Mavericks’ ownership to disclose details about its planned Valley View arena development, financing and corporate structure.

Cuban believes he still has a right to be involved in the Mavericks’ business opportunities, despite selling his majority stake in the team to Miriam Adelson and Dumont, her son-in-law, the filing shows. 

The billionaire businessman filed a petition in Dallas County this week to review the contract to buy the former Valley View mall site to build a new basketball arena. Cuban also requests details on how the arena project will be financed and to see the corporate structure behind the team’s real estate deal. 

The Adelson and Dumont families declined to comment. Cuban’s attorneys also did not respond to a request for comment.

Cuban’s petition escalates what has been more than two years of dysfunction between the Mavericks’ largest shareholders and possibly complicates the team’s plans to build an arena at the site.

The court filing details Cuban’s allegations, including what he called Dumont’s push to “gain leverage” over the Dallas Stars to seek control of the American Airlines Center. Cuban said Dumont’s dealings also shut him out of any development opportunities related to a new arena or casino development.

The petition for information is the latest sign of tension between Cuban and the Adelson family. The current owners confirmed to The News in February that a provision in the 2023 sales agreement gives them the ability to buy 20% of Cuban’s 27% stake. In a statement, the families said they “look forward” to expanding their stake.

The filling comes over a month after the Mavericks signed an option agreement to purchase approximately 104 acres of the former site of Valley View mall, dealing a blow to efforts to bring the team downtown. 

Cuban said his businesses were “contractually entitled to participate” in the Valley View deal, which the filing describes as “a unique investment opportunity.” 

The complaint puts scrutiny on Arena Development Intermediate, a Delaware-based entity the team’s ownership formed to put together the real estate needed for a new arena. Cuban said he’s not aware of other people involved, because Delaware does not require disclosure of the company’s ownership. 

He also said in the filing he didn’t know about the Valley View purchase until he saw an SEC filing and the deal became public. The filing said the company is also considering buying more land near the site, but the Mavericks’ ownership hasn’t told Cuban about the plan. 

The petition could lay the groundwork for lawsuits to stop the sale. Cuban said he doesn’t know who to sue or what opportunities he’s entitled to before the Valley View deal is complete.

“Once the transaction closes, unwinding it will be difficult or impossible,” the petition said.

But a former Mavericks shareholder questioned Cuban’s petition. 

Frank Zaccanelli negotiated Ross Perot Jr.’s 1996 purchase of the Mavericks from founding owner Donald Carter. Zaccanelli also was a minority Mavericks shareholder and was team president and acting general manager during the Perot era. He helped negotiate the deal to sell the team to Cuban in 2000. 

“The bottom line is this: Mark sold majority ownership and control in the team,” Zaccanelli told The Dallas Morning News on Wednesday. “He did it willfully. He did it with full knowledge. Trying to point to some handshake deal in a $3.8 billion sale of an NBA franchise is maybe the weakest legal position I’ve ever heard of in 50 years of business.”

The petition offers the clearest distillation of the growing animosity between Cuban and Dumont.

In 2019, Cuban began working with the Las Vegas Sands and lobbying the state of Texas to legalize gambling and build a $10 billion casino resort as a partner. Years later in 2023, he looked to them to buy the Mavericks. 

Miriam Adelson and Patrick Dumont’s families purchased 69% of the Mavericks from Cuban and several minority shareholders. Cuban maintained a 27% stake and has repeatedly said there was a verbal agreement that he would continue to oversee basketball operations.

But Dumont disagreed in his first interview as team governor, telling The News that he would have final say, though he would welcome and appreciate Cuban’s input.

Cuban reiterated his public comments in his petition, several emails and verbal agreements gave him the right to control the Mavericks’ basketball operations, while Dumont would oversee the business side, including “the pursuit of an integrated, destination resort casino in Dallas.” 

“Instead of honoring his handshake deal, Dumont effectively turned control of the team over to former General Manager Nico Harrison, telling Cuban: ‘Why would I give you control of a $4 billion asset?’” the document said. 

The Mavericks’ trade of Luka Dončić accelerated the fallout and “disappointingly confirmed” that Cuban wasn’t in-charge, court filings say. The former majority owner said he was unaware of the deal until minutes before it was consummated, too late for him to voice objection.

In ensuing media interviews, Cuban said it was a deal he wouldn’t have made. But his public comments have only grown more pointed since then. 

In March this year, Cuban appeared as a guest on the Intersections podcast hosted by former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and entrepreneur Kyle Waldrep.

The hosts asked Cuban if he wished he hadn’t sold the Mavericks in 2023.

“I don’t regret selling,” Cuban said. “I regret who I sold to. I made a lot of mistakes in the process, and I’ll leave it at that.”

Mark Cuban goes to court: The Mavericks’ former majority owner asked a court to provide him details about the team’s Valley View arena project, financing and ownership structure.

What’s in the filing: Cuban says agreements made when he sold the team entitled him to participate in future business opportunities, including arena development.

The dispute: Cuban accuses majority owner Patrick Dumont of shutting him out through what the filing calls “adversarial business practices.”

What’s at stake: The filing could be a precursor to litigation that could complicate the Mavericks’ planned arena development at Valley View.

The response: The Adelson and Dumont families declined to comment. Cuban’s attorneys did not respond to requests for comment. Former Mavericks executive Frank Zaccanelli called Cuban’s legal position perhaps “the weakest” he has seen in decades of business experience.