The legal dispute over ownership and transparency of the NBA‘s Phoenix Suns has apparently come to an end as the parties have executed a stipulation of dismissal in the Delaware Court of Chancery, formally ending the lawsuit without a judge deciding the merits.
The filing, submitted Friday, stipulates that both parties will cover their own legal fees and costs.
It comes just days after a countersuit from Suns majority owner Mat Ishbia, who also serves as president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), against minority owners Scott Seldin and Andy Kohlberg. Ishbia accused Seldin and Kohlberg of attempting to compel him to repurchase their ownership shares “at an exorbitant premium.”
The countersuit followed an August lawsuit from Kisco WC Sports II, owned by Kohlberg, and Kent Circle Investments, owned by Seldin, who had minority stakes under former Suns majority owner Robert Sarver. Each party alleged that Ishbia refused to grant them access to team records.
The disagreement stemmed from a June 2025 capital call for team expenses, which investors Kisco and Kent refused to fund. They accused Ishbia of pressuring them to sell their stakes and demanding an “exorbitant premium” buyout. In turn, the Suns asked the court to affirm the capital call’s validity and accused the minority owners of launching a smear campaign to secure an inflated payout.
Michael Carlinsky of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, counsel for the minority partners, issued a statement after Friday’s dismissal.
“Our clients succeeded in their books and records action in obtaining information we were seeking and have discontinued that case,” he said. “We are now focused on the critical phase in our litigation, which will involve our clients’ assertion of claims for mismanagement and other misconduct and look forward to their day in Court.”
A Suns spokesperson told HousingWire, “This is more of the same from litigious limited partners who are using the courts to try to leverage a buyout. They dropped their books and records complaint because the organization is and has been fully transparent about its operations and success. We are confident that we will prevail in court.”
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