Saints and Pelicans Owner TOM BENSON has "reached a settlement agreement in his legal fight to take away ownership" in his teams from his estranged heirs, "avoiding a federal trial," according to Katherine Sayre of the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE. The agreement will need to be approved by the NFL and NBA "before the deal can go into effect." Benson last year sued to remove shares in his teams "from trust funds he created for his daughter, RENEE BENSON, and grandchildren, RITA and RYAN LEBLANC." The move "came after a dramatic Benson family fallout" in December '14 when Benson "disowned the three heirs." Benson later "announced he plans to leave the teams to his wife, GAYLE BENSON." Terms of the settlement "weren't released." A Saints spokesperson said operations for all of Benson's business properties remain "business as usual." The litigation "involves only non-controlling stock in the franchises, meaning the shares didn't give the heirs any authority over the teams, only a financial interest." The heirs' trust funds hold 95% of the Pelicans and 60% of the Saints (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 6/18). ESPN.com's Mike Triplett noted the settlement "should clear Benson's path" to make his wife the "official successor to his sports franchises." It also means that Benson will "not be required to testify in open court" this week, and that private financial records of both teams and the NFL and NBA will "be kept under wraps after the judge had previously denied requests to keep them confidential" (ESPN.com, 6/17).
UNCERTAIN FUTURE: In New Orleans, Jeff Duncan wrote the "legal imbroglio" was in "everyone's best interests" to end. The heirs "stood to gain little from forcing the issue and continuing to drag" Benson through the judicial court system, and they were "never going to gain complete control of the team." There was also "no chance the NFL was going to allow its financial laundry to be aired in public." Meanwhile, questions about the "future ownership structure of the teams abound." Duncan wonders if the heirs are "completely out of the picture?" Duncan: "Are they silent partners? Do they own minority stakes in one or both of the teams? If so, and most important, how does this affect the post-Tom Benson succession plan?" If the heirs "are able to retain some ownership interest in the teams then it will make for an obviously awkward situation." As it stands, Gayle Benson will "own the clubs in the post-Tom Benson era and the current management will run them." The settlement "should be cause for celebration" for those "satisfied with the status quo" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 6/19).
