(Reuters) - Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and Jamie McCourt said on Monday they settled their divorce case, putting an end to a feud that had further complicated the Major League Baseball team's bankruptcy proceedings.
Jamie McCourt, who had opposed the proposed sale of the Dodgers' media rights, will now support the process, according to a joint statement.
The club, which filed for bankruptcy in June, wants to hold an auction of its broadcast rights, saying this can help refinance the team. That would also enable Frank McCourt to hold onto the team after the bankruptcy.
In addition to Jamie McCourt, Major League Baseball has fought Frank McCourt's plan for the team and opposed the auction, disputing the team's need for bankruptcy and questioning McCourt's spending. The league, which took over the team's finances in the spring, has also launched a legal battle to control the bankruptcy process.
Fox Sports, which holds the media rights for the team until November 2012 under its current contract, has also opposed the TV rights auction.
As the legal battle for control continued, Jamie McCourt in May asked a judge to order the immediate sale of the franchise, accusing Frank McCourt of mismanagement. Frank McCourt put the team into bankruptcy the next month, saying it had run out of cash.
Frank McCourt has owned the team for seven years and during that time developed a reputation for high spending. The couple purchased multiple homes, flew private planes and ran up their personal debts.
McCourt, who was primarily a real estate developer at the time, bought the team in 2004 for $430 million, mostly in debt from Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corp.
Bankruptcy court enabled the Dodgers to break that Fox contract and now the Dodgers expect the media rights auction to bring in offers from other broadcasters or cable companies.
The case is in Re: Los Angeles Dodgers LLC, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 11-12010.
A spokeswoman of the Dodgers declined to comment. Major League Baseball was not immediately available to comment.
(Reporting by Caroline Humer; Editing by Gary Hill)
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