Donald Sterling and Steve Ballmer meet to talk about Clippers sale

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN LA reports that no settlement was reached in the talks, which follows a civil case in which Sterling continues to argue his wife Shelly was not authorized to sell the franchise.

Donald Sterling has been adamant about fighting the May 29 sale of the team, which came about as a result of the processes defined in the the Sterling Family Trust, which owned the Clippers. Two neurologists examined him, diagnosed him with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and ruled him mentally unfit to handle his own business and legal proceedings.

But Donald Sterling and his attorneys argue the examinations were made under false pretenses because he was not made aware that the results could bar him from the list of trustees. A couple weeks ago, the Sterlings held a civil court suit to challenge the legality of the results and dissemination of the doctors’ examination.

Judge Michael Levanas struck down the arguments that the doctors violated privacy laws in disclosing their results to the attorneys. Donald Sterling’s new civil court proceedings march on with new arguments holding that the sale should be rescinded.

The agreement had set up a sale by July 15, with an extension option that would last until August 15.

The NBA’s other option was to terminate Sterling’s ownership of the team, but with Shelly Sterling’s quick moves to sell to Ballmer, they didn’t have to take those steps.

But should the sale extension expire, the NBA could resume termination processes, which would then lead to a new sale, by September 15. Sterling has said the league would take those steps if the Los Angeles Superior Court ends up ruling that Shelly Sterling did not act within the legal bounds in her selling the Clippers.