Former Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks on Thursday settled a lawsuit with the baseball club's bankruptcy administrator, who had accused the Dallas financier of "self-dealing and (a) pattern of fraudulent asset transfers calculated to enrich himself" at the expense of the Rangers.
The joint motion, using far more polite language, said Hicks and plan administrator Alan M. Jacobs have "compromised and resolved the disputes at issue." It didn't indicate how much money, if any, changed hands.Back in November, Jacobs claimed that Hicks had the ballclub pay millions for Arlington land and parking lot improvements but that another Hicks company got nearly all the profits.The lots, located close to both Rangers Ballpark and Cowboys Stadium, generate millions in annual parking revenue and could be worth $51 million to $75 million, the suit alleged.An attorney representing Jacobs didn't return a call seeking comment while Hicks spokeswoman Lisa LeMaster said she had nothing to add to the court filing.In a court filing, Hicks responded to assorted allegations by denying that he squirreled away tens of millions of dollars. In some instances, he said, he paid what was owed, and in others he was protected by a statute of limitations.Jacobs had claimed that the ballclub spent $10 million to $15 million on roads and parking lots that directly benefited Hicks and his Ballpark Real Estate company "at the expense of the Texas Rangers."Under pressure from creditors and Major League Baseball, Hicks placed the team in Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2010, after defaulting on more than $400 million in loans. It was sold 10 weeks later to a group led by Nolan Ryan, Chuck Greenberg and Bob Simpson in an auction for $593 million at the federal courthouse in Fort Worth. The following spring, the Rangers took Hicks to court to maintain control over parking rates.Over the years, Ballpark Real Estate got parking revenue from the arrangement, and the team paid the operating costs of the Hicks entity, Jacobs alleged. Although the team picked up much of the land cost, the administrator said, it was never given title, depriving the new owners of an increasingly valuable asset.The suit in Dallas' 116th District Court also alleged that from 2003 through 2007, the team failed to provide deferred payments to players, in breach of its collective bargaining agreement.Somehow, it says, the players association found out in 2008 and demanded that the amount be paid. The obligations had grown to $39.5 million by the time of the bankruptcy sale, forcing the new owners to fork over nearly $40 million that otherwise could have gone to creditors.Barry Shlachter, 817-390-7718Twitter: @bshlachterHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
