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McCourt Lawyer Says He Did Not Commit Fraud

Amy Silverstein |
September 23, 2010 | 9:34 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Frank's attorney's speak with the press.
Frank's attorney's speak with the press.

Frank and Jamie McCourt began mediation Friday morning to settle their divorce after an attorney's admission shed new light on who should keep the Dodgers after the divorce is complete.

When Frank and Jamie were still married, Frank owned the Dodgers, and Jamie never expressed interest in ownership, attorney Larry Silverstein testified in court Thursday.

Now that they are getting divorced, the question of who gets the Dodgers is at stake. But Silverstein also testified that he changed important words on a postnuptial agreement without telling Frank or Jamie about the changes. 

Silverstein admitted to switching the words "inclusive" and "exclusive" on postnuptial agreement documents. The significance of the wording is that it changed the meaning of Frank's ownership of the Dodgers. Originally, they were excluded from Frank's separate property, but Silverstein's word change meant that they were now included in Frank's property. 

Silverstein said he did this without notifying Jamie or Frank of the change, because he assumed that was what they wanted.  Looking back, he testified, he wished he had let them know about the changes.

"I don't know if it was a mistake. It was not the right procedure," he said Thursday. He said, however, that he did not commit fraud. Rather, he testified that he was just correcting an error.

Silverstein also blamed other inconsistencies between his testimonies at the deposition and the trial on dizziness.  

"You have told me under oath that your dizziness and whatever causes your dizziness does not affect your ability to understand questions and give accurate answers," Jamie McCourt's attorney David Boies said.

"Thats generally true," Silverstein replied.  

"Well, you didn't just say it's generally true, you said it is true."

At a press conference after the trial, Victoria Cook, one of Frank's attorney's, appeared calm and insisted that Silverstein was a credible witness.  

Reach reporter Amy Silverstein here or follow her on Twitter.



 

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