MLB Owners Put Padres Control Decision on Meeting Agenda

Major League Baseball could decide this week on whether to approve John Seidler, an older brother of the late San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler, as the Padres control person.

The topic is on Thursday’s agenda for the MLB owners’ meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., Sportico has learned, though a decision might not happen until later. Any approval could also be made contingent on resolution of a disputed Seidler family trust that has spiraled into litigation.

More from Sportico.com

Last month, Sheel Kamal Seidler, the widow of Peter Seidler, sued two other Seidler brothers, Bob and Matt Seidler, in a Texas probate court. Sheel contends Bob and Matt have breached fiduciary duties as trustees of a trust Peter established. The trust names brothers Bob, Matt and John as successor trustees (meaning the person who would take control of the trust, in that order). One of the trusts’ key assets is the principal ownership stake in the Padres.

Sheel, an attorney who has been licensed to practice law in California for two decades, and her brothers-in-law disagree about how the trust should benefit her versus other purposes. She says Bob and Matt have blocked her from being considered as the Padres’ control person.

Under MLB’s constitution, the control person is the “single individual with ultimate authority and responsibility for making all club decisions.” Sheel says she closely advised Peter while he was the team’s owner, attending MLB owners’ meetings and working with Padres officials on roster transactions and business moves.

As a result, Sheel maintains she is, on the merits, qualified to serve as Padres control person. She also argues that John, next in line to control the trust, is unqualified, portraying him as an “engineer without professional involvement with the Padres.”

In a recent filing, Matt Seidler, the current trustee, disputes his sister-in-law’s assertions and suggests her characterizations are false or exaggerative. He notes that Peter amended his estate at least seven times and not once did Peter designate his wife as the successor control person. Instead, Matt maintains, Peter sought to have the successor trustees run the team, which is consistent with his late brother wanting Bob, Matt and John in charge.

MLB’s constitution indicates that a change in control person requires other clubs’ owners to approve. As a private membership organization, MLB and owners have wide latitude in deciding who is welcomed as an owner.

It is unusual for sports leagues to step into team ownership disputes making their way through the legal system; for example, the NBA has been careful to let the Minnesota Timberwolves sale fight play out in arbitration. But it would be difficult for a party to legally challenge a decision by MLB and its owners regarding a team’s control person, though the Padres’ situation is unique and could spark additional scrutiny.

Best of Sportico.com

Sign up for Sportico’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.