Frank McCourt says yes to proposed settlement, but Jamie McCourt says no

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Frank McCourt accepted a mediator’s proposal to settle the Dodgers’ divorce case Tuesday, but Jamie McCourt rejected the proposal. The mediator, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Lichtman, declared the two sides at impasse, court spokeswoman Mary Hearn said.

The McCourts now will await the ruling of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon, who will decide the validity of a marital agreement that would provide Frank with sole ownership of the Dodgers. Jamie has asked Gordon to throw out that agreement, which could leave the ownership of the team in dispute for several years. Gordon has until Dec. 28 to rule.

Lichtman ordered the McCourts not to discuss the particulars of the settlement proposal. Marc Seltzer, an attorney for Frank, issued a statement confirming his client’s decision to accept the proposal.

‘Frank fully supported the mediation process in the hopes that it would result in an agreement that would bring long-awaited closure to this matter,’ Seltzer said.

‘It is clear that Judge Lichtman, who acted as the settlement judge in this matter, went to great lengths to bring the parties together. He presented a thoughtful, detailed proposal that clearly took significant time, energy and expertise to prepare.

‘After considerable deliberation, Frank accepted Judge Lichtman’s proposal. He felt it was the responsible thing to do for his family, the Dodgers organization and the entire community. Unfortunately, Judge Lichtman has declared the parties to be at impasse. We can only conclude that Jamie rejected Judge Lichtman’s settlement proposal and is allowing this matter to drag on further.’

Dennis Wasser, an attorney for Jamie, said he believed that Lichtman’s confidentiality order prevented him even from confirming that Jamie had rejected the proposal.

‘We believe that we are not at liberty to discuss the settlement process or the settlement proposals,’ Wasser said.

-- Bill Shaikin