Dean Spanos, the controlling owner of the Chargers, was accused of repeated “breaches of fiduciary duty” and “self-dealing” by his sister in a lawsuit, which also claimed the family trust is on track to be insolvent in the next three years.
The lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in San Joaquin County Superior Court by attorneys representing Dea Spanos Berberian, is seeking sole control of the family trust and asks the court to suspend and remove Spanos as co-trustee.
Spanos and Berberian were made co-trustees of the trust after the deaths of their parents, Alex and Faye Spanos, in 2018. The lawsuit is also seeking financial damages from Berberian’s other brother, Michael Spanos, and Steven Cohen, the executive vice president and COO of The Spanos Corporation (TSC).
Berberian accused Michael Spanos of “falsely representing” himself as a co-trustee of the family trust, and claimed Michael and Cohen played roles in “aiding and abetting Dean’s breaches of fiduciary duty.”
The lawsuit also accused the Spanos brothers of “misogynistic” behavior and of “actions designed to keep Dea in the dark” from business dealings. Dean Spanos was accused of “manipulating” the trust to borrow in excess of $60 million for an airplane, which was used with “no legitimate business justification.”
“For example, despite the fact that TSC conducted little to no business in Las Vegas for decades, Dean insisted on keeping a TSC office there so that he could write-off private flights to enjoy his second home and get his haircut, since Las Vegas is where Dean’s barber is based,” the lawsuit read.
Last year, Berberian had a different lawsuit that sought instruction by a California state court for how to manage the 36% share owned by the family’s trust. The filing alleges that the trust’s debts and expenses exceed $353 million and stated that the only solution is to put the team on the market. The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County, but in July a judge approved of Dean’s request to move it to San Joaquin County. The lawsuit could be headed for arbitration within the NFL.
The Spanos family owns 96% of the Chargers. The four Spanos siblings, including Alexis Spanos Ruhl, each own 15%. Thirty-six percent is part of a trust established by the parents. The remaining 4% is owned by non-family members.
Alex Spanos, a billionaire real estate developer, took ownership of the then-San Diego franchise in 1984, buying 60% of the team for $48.3 million. He later bought up nearly all the remaining shares of the team.
More to come on this story.
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