Donald Sterling Settles Suit with NBA Over Clippers' Sale

BEVERLY HILLS, CA -- Former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling reached a settlement of his lawsuit against the NBA over the $2 billion sale of the team in 2014, one of his attorneys said Friday.

Terms of the settlement were not revealed, but Sterling attorney Bobby Samini confirmed the resolution of the case.

"Donald is pleased to have this matter resolved and is looking forward to future endeavors," Samini told City News Service.

Sterling sued the NBA for more than $1 billion in damages immediately after his wife Shelly agreed in May 2014 to sell the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

The league countersued, alleging that Sterling harmed the league with a widely broadcast racist rant that was caught on tape.

Attorneys for Sterling amended the suit last year to include as defendants the last two NBA commissioners, Adam Silver and David Stern; Sterling's wife, Shelly; and two doctors who found him mentally incapable of continuing as the Clippers owner.

But in March, a federal judge in downtown Los Angeles tossed the lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin wrote that the court is "skeptical Sterling suffered any injury at all, let alone an antitrust injury" and described other portions of the lawsuit as "clearly implausible."

Sterling, however, appealed the decision.

Sterling's lawsuit alleged that the NBA was part of a conspiracy that included Silver, Shelly Sterling and others to remove him after 33 years as the Clippers owner.

-- City News Service, photo Zennie Abraham/Flickr