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Shelly Sterling said in her lawsuit that V. Stiviano, who
recorded the racist remarks by Donald Sterling that led the NBA
last year to ban him for life and force the sale of the Clippers
franchise, was essentially a gold digger who seduced her husband
into providing money and gifts.
"Shelly is thrilled with this decision. It is a victory for the
Sterling family to recover millions that Donald lavished on a
conniving mistress," said attorney Pierce O'Donnell in an
emailed statement on Tuesday night.
Attorneys for Stiviano could not be immediately reached for
comment.
Shelly Sterling's lawyers asked the judge to grant her title to
a $1.8 million house her husband had bought for Stiviano, plus
more than $1 million in cash they said he showered on Stiviano
for living expenses, credit-card purchases and three luxury
cars.
O'Donnell said the house and money would go to the Sterling
Family Trust, which he said holds their community property.
Stiviano did not dispute Donald Sterling's generosity, though
she quibbled over the sums and denied manipulating him. She
repeatedly testified during the non-jury trial in Los Angeles
Superior Court that Sterling instead tried to manipulate her and
that the two never had a romantic relationship.
Stiviano described herself instead as a one-time confidante,
personal assistant and platonic companion of the 80-year-old
billionaire real estate mogul, who she said chose to give her
large sums of money and expensive gifts as gestures of his love
and appreciation.
Stiviano, of mixed race herself, was the one who recorded the
now-infamous conversation with Sterling, in which he berated her
for associating with black people and urged her not to bring
minorities with her to Clippers games.
In the furor sparked when the recording was made public last
April - Stiviano has said it was leaked to the media by a friend
- the NBA banned Sterling from the league for life, and he was
ultimately forced to sell the Clippers franchise he had owned
for 33 years.
(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Jeremy
Laurence)
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