Sterling sues TMZ, friend over loss of Clippers team
In this Oct. 25, 2013, file photo, then-Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, right, and V. Stiviano, left, watch the Clippers play the Sacramento Kings during an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles. Former Clippers owner Sterling has filed for divorce from his wife of nearly 60 years on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2015, as he continues to battle her over ownership of the team. Sterling, 81, cited irreconcilable differences in paperwork submitted to the Los Angeles Superior Court, attorney Bobby Samini said. The filing comes two weeks before the couple’s 60th anniversary and about four months after a judge ordered Stiviano, a woman who Shelly Sterling alleged was her husband’s mistress, to turn over the keys to a $1.8 million house that Donald Sterling bought her and to pay Shelly Sterling about $800,000 that her husband showered on the younger woman in cash, a Ferrari and other luxury vehicles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles billionaire Donald Sterling has sued celebrity website TMZ and an ex-girlfriend over a recording of off-color remarks that cost him ownership of the Clippers basketball team.
Sterling sued TMZ and V. Stiviano on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming they violated his privacy by illegally recording a private conversation and broadcasting it.
The suit is the latest salvo in a litigious soap opera after Sterling was forced from the NBA and the basketball team was sold for $2 billion.
Stiviano has said Sterling consented to the recordings she made while he lavished her with luxury gifts and a house during a sexless relationship.
Sterling told Stiviano not to associate with black people in recordings obtained by TMZ.
A lawyer who represented Stiviano in another case says the lawsuit is ridiculous. TMZ didn’t immediately reply to messages for comment.
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