Billionaire sues TMZ, friend over loss of Clippers team

The recording emerged in April 2014, and it revealed that Sterling had told Stiviano, his then-companion, not to consort with black men, including Lakers great Magic Johnson.

The Clippers’ former owner has filed a lawsuit against Stiviano and TMZ, seeking damages for the recording and its distribution that led to the $2 billion sale of the team.

“As a direct and proximate result of both Stiviano and TMZ’s malfeasance with regard to the illicit recording and subsequent dissemination of the private conversation between Sterling and Stiviano, (Sterling) has been damaged on a scale of unparalleled and unprecedented magnitude”, the lawsuit states.

The go well with is the newest salvo in a litigious cleaning soap opera after Sterling was pressured from the NBA and the basketball workforce was bought for $2 billion. She had won court approval for the sale by showing Sterling had dementia and was unfit to handle his own business affairs.

Attorney Mac Nehoray, who represented Stiviano in the previous lawsuit, said Sterling doesn’t have a claim to privacy because his insensitive remarks were made in front of Stiviano’s sister. Shelly had previously taken legal action against Stiviano, demanding the return of what she argued was community property that her husband had given to Stiviano, whom she described as “a conniving mistress”.

The lawsuit alleges that Stiviano or TMZ doctored the tapes to “reflect conversations…that either never occurred, were grossly distored and/or stated out of context”.

Considering Sterling also just filed for divorce from his wife, this might not be his best week ever. Donald Sterling has little to gain and may further sour the public’s perception of him in an effort to salvage something out of his stunning fall from grace.

Sixteen months ago, a recording of Sterling making racial comments was made public by TMZ and set off a chain of events leading to Sterling being banned for life by the National Basketball Association.