Lost in the Donald Sterling firestorm is what may have led to all this: the lawsuit by Donald Sterling’s wife, Rochelle Sterling, against V. Stiviano.
The lawsuit, which can be viewed here courtesy of scribd, contends that either (1) Donald Sterling gave community property worth at least $1,800,000 that consists of a Ferrari, two Bentleys, a Range Rover, and a duplex near the Beverly Center to V. Stiviano without the consent of Mrs. Sterling or (2) Stiviano and possibly others fraudulently caused Donald Sterling to convey this property to her. Because of this, Mrs. Sterling seeks the recovery of this property as the wife of Donald Sterling and 1/2 owner of their community property.
Stiviano responded by filing a demurrer (which can be viewed here, also courtesy of scribd), which asks the court to rule that Mrs. Sterling doesn’t have the right to sue Stiviano for the legal theories stated in the lawsuit. Stiviano’s argument essentially is the property she received from Donald Sterling were all gifts and therefore there is no basis to require her to return the gifts or to find that Mrs. Sterling still has an ownership interest in the property.
The court is scheduled to rule on the demurrer on July 8.
For more on the litigants, see this Slate article on Rochelle Sterling and this Fox article on V. Stiviano.
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