Sonics Attorneys Expose Plan Intended To Force Bennett To Sell

Sonics Attorneys Use Some Of Walker's E-Mails To Show Effort To Force Sale Of Sonics

NEXT STEPS: Seattle City Councilman Nick Licata took the stand after Walker, and he will return to the stand when proceedings resume Thursday. Seattle plans to call one rebuttal witness, Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis, when Licata's testimony concludes, and both sides then will offer closing arguments. Ceis after Friday's proceedings indicated that he "thought things were going well for the city." Asked if there might be settlement talks before closing arguments, Ceis said that he "hadn't talked to Bennett's representatives since an October meeting in New York and didn't expect to do so in the coming days" (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 6/21).

Writer Feels Gorton's Passion To Keep Sonics In Seattle Undermining City's Case In Lawsuit

NUMBERS GAME: In Oklahoma City, Chris Casteel noted Pechman has presided over the trial with "frequent admonishments to attorneys to follow the rules about phrasing questions and entering evidence, but she asked very few questions of the witnesses. The ones she did ask were about numbers." Casteel: "Because that's what this case is about -- or isn't" (DAILY OKLAHOMAN, 6/22). Boston College law professor and SI.com legal analyst Michael McCann: "I think the truth is the Sonics had the advantage going into this. The tradition of courts has been to substitute monetary damages." In Seattle, Jim Brunner wrote a "crucial test for the city to reverse that presumption may be whether it can prove that the Sonics are a unique tenant -- one that brings benefits to the city that cannot be calculated in dollars and cents." Univ. of Alabama law professor Alfred Brophy, an "expert in landlord-tenant law," said in an e-mail that the "city has 'a strong argument' when it comes to the unique benefits of having an NBA team as its arena tenant." Brophy: "Public interest is a trump card that judges throw down to resolve these kinds of huge cases, especially when you have something like a building that a lot of people use, or a highway, or in this case, a city's treasured team." But Brunner noted "no one knows" how Pechman will view those issues. Pechman last week told attorneys that "she'd discovered case law that neither side had discussed in pretrial briefs and said she'd ask them to address those cases in closing arguments." However, Pechman at least twice in the trial has "appeared interested in the notion that a monetary calculation of the Sonics' value can be made" (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/22).

Possession ARROW: In Seattle, Jim Moore wrote under the header, "One Expert's Opinion: Sonics Will Prevail." Seattle-based attorney Mike Hunsinger "thinks the city has a good case but wonders if [Pechman] will force the Sonics to honor the KeyArena lease when there is so much bitterness between the partners." Moore noted one of the "critical issues is whether Pechman thought Bennett was truthful in his testimony." Hunsinger said of Bennett's testimony that he was a "man possessed" to find an arena solution in Seattle, "I don't see how you can possibly interpret that to mean what he testified. If I were the judge, I'd be offended by Bennett. If Bennett did not come across as honest and if you conclude that he testified untruthfully about his intent, I don't think there are too many judges who would decide in his favor" (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 6/21).

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