Sons Of Baltimore Orioles Owner Feud Over Control Of Team, Family Fortune, The Baltimore Banner Reports
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A lawsuit has revealed Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos' two sons are locked in a bitter feud over control of the baseball team and their family's fortune, according to The Baltimore Banner.
Infighting erupted after Peter Angelos fell seriously ill in October 2017 and established a trust with his wife and two sons appointed as co-trustees, according to the lawsuit.
The Banner reports that 52-year-old Louis Angelos sued his brother and mother Thursday in Baltimore County Circuit Court. Louis claims in the lawsuit his father intended for the two brothers to control the team equally, but that John, 54, has grabbed power.
"John intends to maintain absolute control over the Orioles — to manage, to sell, or, if he chooses, to move to Tennessee (where he has a home and where his wife's career is headquartered) — without having to answer to anyone," the lawsuit says, according to the Banner.
John Angelos and his wife have a home in the Nashville area.
The suit claims Peter Angelos' wife Georgia has prioritized selling the team, but John Angelos nixed the deal when an advisor tried to negotiate a sale in 2020.
The Banner said that while the lawsuit speculates that John Angelos might want to move the team, there are no allegations that he took any such steps. In fact, he has said the team wouldn't move.
"As long as Fort McHenry is watching over the harbor, the Orioles will be in Baltimore," John Angelos said in 2019.
The Maryland Stadium Authority in early 2021 announced a two-year extension to the team's 30-year lease at Camden Yards that was set to expire at the end of the 2021 season.
The Banner noted that the Maryland State legislature this year passed an initiative committing $1.2 billion for upgrades to Oriole Park as well as the Ravens' M&T Bank Stadium, an effort to keep both teams in Baltimore.
The Banner said an attorney for John could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday. A spokeswoman for the Orioles also declined to comment.