The Mavericks vs. Stars lawsuit is a contract fight over who controls the American Airlines Center, the Dallas arena the two teams have jointly operated since 2001. The Mavericks sued in October 2025, claiming the Stars breached a lease requirement to keep their headquarters in Dallas when they moved to Frisco in 2003. In spring 2026, a Texas Business Court judge ruled for the Mavericks and validated their attempt to buy out the Stars’ 50% stake in arena management for $110 in cash. The Stars have appealed.1CBS News Texas. Dallas Mavericks Win Dispute With Dallas Stars Over American Airlines Center Management
The Partnership Behind the Fight
The American Airlines Center is owned by the City of Dallas. When it opened, the Mavericks and Stars formed a joint venture to run it under a lease that runs through 2031, each holding a 50% stake in the Center Operating Company that manages the building and splits event revenue.1CBS News Texas. Dallas Mavericks Win Dispute With Dallas Stars Over American Airlines Center Management
The teams’ franchise agreements with the city, dating to 1998 and 1999, required each team to keep its “principal corporate and executive offices” in Dallas. Section 2.1 of each agreement made this a continuing obligation.2NY1. Mavericks vs Stars Original Petition and Application for Injunctive Relief Attached to that obligation was a buyout mechanism: if one team breached the location requirement, the other could redeem the breaching partner’s ownership interests in the arena management entities for a nominal sum specified in the contracts.
The Stars moved their corporate headquarters and practice facility to Frisco in 2003. For two decades, the teams coexisted at the arena without public friction.3The Dallas Morning News. Mavericks Stars Arena Legal Ruling
How the Dispute Started
The dynamic shifted after the Mavericks changed hands. In late 2023, the Miriam Adelson and Patrick Dumont families bought a controlling stake in the team for $3.5 billion, with Mark Cuban retaining 27%.4Sportico. Mavericks Stars Arena Battle Lawsuit The new owners wanted to invest in upgrades to the aging arena and said the Stars, owned by Tom Gaglardi since 2011, were blocking those improvements.5The Dallas Morning News. Dallas Stars Mavericks American Airlines Center Lawsuit
On October 25, 2024, Mavericks counsel sent the Stars a letter asserting that the Frisco move had triggered a “Relocation Event” under the partnership contracts. Enclosed was $110 in cash: $100 for the Stars’ partnership interest in the Center Operating Company and $10 for their membership interest in the general partner. Those figures came straight from the original agreements as the redemption price for a defaulting partner.6FindLaw. Dallas Sports Group v DSE Hockey Club
Six days later, the Stars rejected the buyout, called it a hostile takeover attempt, and returned the money.7Sports Business Journal. Dallas Divide: Mavericks Stars Arena Feud Reveals Pressures of Soaring Valuations
The Lawsuit and the Stars’ Defenses
In October 2025, Dallas Sports Group — the Adelson-Dumont holding company — sued in the Texas Business Court, asking a judge to ratify the buyout and grant the Mavericks full arena control. The Mavericks also sought an emergency injunction to strip the Stars of their co-management role, citing among other things the Stars’ veto of customary year-end bonuses for arena employees.8CBS News Texas. Dallas Mavericks Lawsuit Stars American Airlines Center Upgrades The team withdrew the injunction request on November 3, 2025, after ownership agreed to fund the bonuses directly.9The Dallas Morning News. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman Slams Mavericks Frivolous Arena Lawsuit Against Stars Monthly arena disbursements to both teams went into escrow during the litigation.
The Stars mounted several defenses. About a month after the initial complaint, they countersued, arguing that the headquarters clause was between the Stars and the City of Dallas and that the Mavericks had no standing to enforce it.10KERA News. Dallas Mavericks Stars American Airlines Center Control Lawsuit
They also turned the Mavericks’ theory back on them. In a November 18, 2025 filing, the Stars alleged that the Mavericks’ new ownership had listed Las Vegas as the team’s principal corporate offices with the Texas Secretary of State. Stars attorney Joshua Sandler of Winstead PC called that “the very conduct they allege entitles them to take full control of the American Airlines Center.”11CBS News Texas. Stars Claim Mavericks Listed Las Vegas as Team Headquarters
The Stars pursued a third front in Delaware. They argued that the franchise’s 2011 bankruptcy plan transferred team assets “free and clear,” resolving any future arena disputes, and asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to reopen the case.12Fox 4 News. Dallas Stars Flip Script Accusing Mavericks Las Vegas Move On January 12, 2026, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Karen B. Owens denied the motion, writing that “Texas Business Court can determine these issues in the ordinary course of business.”13The Dallas Morning News. Dallas Stars Dallas Mavericks Lawsuit Legal Battle Bankruptcy
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was blunt in November 2025, calling the Mavericks’ lawsuit “frivolous” and saying he was “somewhere between amazed and appalled.” He suggested the Mavericks believed the Stars “can be pushed around,” adding, “that’s not the hockey mentality.”14Sports Business Journal. Bettman Mavs Arena Lawsuit Against Stars Frivolous
The Ruling
Mediation on February 27, 2026 produced no resolution, and summary judgment motions went before Judge Bill Whitehill of the Texas Business Court, with argument held at SMU’s Dedman School of Law.15The Dallas Morning News. Dallas Mavericks Stars Lawsuit Chip Babcock American Airlines Center On April 2, 2026, Judge Whitehill issued a lengthy opinion, reported as 91 or 94 pages, granting the Mavericks declaratory judgment and denying the Stars’ motions.
On the location clause, the court found that the franchise agreements required each Owner to keep the Team’s principal corporate offices in Dallas, not the Owner’s own offices elsewhere. The evidence, the judge wrote, “conclusively establishes that at all relevant times the Mavericks have complied with this requirement — and the Stars have not.”16Bloomberg Law. NBAs Mavericks Prevail in Texas Business Court Arena Dispute The 2003 Frisco move breached the location commitment and triggered a Relocation Event.17TCJL. Dallas Mavericks Defeat Dallas Stars in Business Court Thriller
On the mechanics of the $110 tender, the Stars had argued only the arena management entities could execute a buyout, which would require a board vote impossible under the 50-50 deadlock. Judge Whitehill ruled that the contracts gave a “Remaining Partner” the unilateral right to cause a redemption when a Relocation Event occurred. Requiring the Mavericks to call for a vote the Stars would block would be a “vain, useless, or futile act.” The October 2024 letter and $110 cash tender were a valid exercise of contractual rights.6FindLaw. Dallas Sports Group v DSE Hockey Club
The Stars’ strongest procedural argument was timing. The breach happened in 2003; the suit came in 2025, well past any limitations period. Judge Whitehill found that no “actual, justiciable controversy” over the redemption arose until November 1, 2024, when the Stars formally rejected the buyout letter. He also cited a non-waiver provision that prevented the Stars from arguing the Mavericks had forfeited their rights through delay.17TCJL. Dallas Mavericks Defeat Dallas Stars in Business Court Thriller
Why There Was No Trial
A jury trial had been set for May 12, 2026, but it never happened. The Mavericks prevailed on every significant pretrial issue, leaving nothing for a jury to decide.18The Dallas Morning News. Mavericks Stars Legal Battle Update No Jury Trial
On April 8, 2026, the Mavericks dropped their tortious interference claim, which had sought damages tied largely to the escrowed arena disbursements, estimated at $60 million to $70 million. The team called it “an important and proactive demonstration of good faith” and said recent rulings gave “significant clarity.”19The Dallas Morning News. Mavericks Stars Lawsuit AAC Update The only issue left was attorney fees, reported at $3.6 million per team, with Judge Whitehill indicating each side would likely bear its own costs.18The Dallas Morning News. Mavericks Stars Legal Battle Update No Jury Trial
The Appeal
On May 20, 2026, the Stars filed a notice of appeal to the Texas 15th Court of Appeals, the designated appellate court for the Texas Business Court.20The Dallas Morning News. Dallas Stars Appeal Mavericks Court Ruling The Stars’ appellate team is led by Joshua Sandler and includes former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson.21NBC DFW. Dallas Stars Appeal Court Ruling Giving Mavericks Control of American Airlines Center
The Mavericks said they were “confident the appellate court will not find any error in Judge Whitehill’s rulings, including his meticulous 94-page opinion.” No briefing schedule or oral argument date had been announced as of mid-2026. Stars CEO Brad Alberts said the team’s escrowed share of arena disbursements had grown to “tens of millions of dollars” during the case.20The Dallas Morning News. Dallas Stars Appeal Mavericks Court Ruling
What the Fight Is Really About
Neither team plans to stay at the American Airlines Center past 2031, when the lease ends. The Mavericks have announced a new arena and mixed-use development in the Valley View area of Dallas.22The Dallas Morning News. Mavericks Dumont Adelson Valley View Arena The Stars have been exploring a roughly $1 billion arena in Plano, where the city council approved a letter of intent for $700 million in public funding toward a sports and entertainment district at The Shops at Willow Bend.23ESPN. Plano Approves Funding Plan Potential Dallas Stars Arena
Until then, control of the building turns on the appeal. If the 15th Court of Appeals upholds Judge Whitehill’s ruling, the Mavericks will manage the arena alone for the remaining years of the lease, having acquired the Stars’ 50% stake for $110.