Seal Seidler, the wife of late San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler, sued her brothers-in-law, Matthew and Robert, on Monday in an attempt to prevent her other brother, John, from leading the team instead of her. .
The lawsuit comes at a time when the Padres are one of the teams acquiring Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki.
In a complaint filed in Travis County Probate Court in Austin, Texas, Seal Seidler is suing Matthew, who became executor of Peter Seidler's estate last year, and Robert, his former executor. She alleged breach of trust, fraud, conversion, and gross self-dealing.
The petition accuses Robert's wife, Alecia, of making “multiple racist, profane, and hateful communications directed toward Seal, a woman of Indian descent.”
“Defendants' actions to wrest control of the Padres from what Bob and Matt considered their family business and ancestral right were a female, interloper, non-O'Malley, Indian-American woman. “This was done to forcibly remove a certain seal.” the petition argued.
Mr. Seal asked that Mr. Matthew be prohibited from acting on behalf of the Seidler Trust and that he be removed as a trustee. She asked the court to invalidate any lawsuit that would appoint anyone other than Seal as the Padres' control person.
“Although I made this decision as a last resort, I believe it is the right choice and best option to protect the Padres franchise and ensure that the vision that Peter and I shared for the team continues.” We believe this is the way to go,” Shell said in a statement. .
The Peter Seidler Trust issued a statement calling the lawsuit “completely without merit.”
“Peter had a clear succession plan,” the statement said. “The plan specifically named three of the nine brothers, who had worked closely together for decades, as successor trustees of the trust, and Peter himself had prohibited Seal from serving as a trustee. .”
Peter Seidler, grandson of late Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, was an investor in the group that took over the Padres in 2012. He became team manager on November 18, 2020, replacing Ron Fowler, who passed away on the same day at the age of 63. November 14, 2023. Three days later, the team appointed Eric Kutzenda, Peter Seidler's business partner, as interim manager.
San Diego announced Dec. 21 that John would be the control person, but Major League Baseball owners have not yet approved it.
“Matt attempted to intimidate Seal into silence and threatened him if he went public with his opposition to John's unfair appointment as administrator,” the petition reads.
San Diego, which has never won a World Series, has cut annual salaries for major league players from a franchise-record $257 million in 2023 to $166 million at the start of the 2024 season.
“The fact that media coverage highlighted that the Padres have cut salaries, lowered expectations, and tacitly abandoned their full pursuit of winning a World Series would have been devastating to Peter,” the petition states. states.
The petition included a slip of paper said to be in Peter Seidler's handwriting, stating that Seal and his children would be followed as possible future rulers. The petition quotes Matthew as saying in a letter dated October 15 last year that Seal lacked the “experience, skills and financial acumen necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of this important role.” are.
“Rather than appoint Seal as the controlling person for the Padres, consistent with Peter's stated preferences and whose interests were most aligned with the Seidler Trust, Defendants coerced his brother John to become the controlling person for the Padres. ,” the petition alleges. .
“By doing so, they are placing control of substantial interests in the Padres and the Seidler Trust in the hands of third parties, enjoying the appearance and benefits of being major owners. Freezing Seal from the Padres organization and stripping her of the benefits of being the biggest beneficiary of the baseball team while reaping the benefits herself.”
“The Trustee has exclusive responsibility for appointing the next control person for the San Diego Padres,” the trust statement said, adding, “In connection with Peter's appointment as control person, in 2020, Seal was sworn in. We agreed in the document that she had no right or right to do so,” it added. They appointed an administrator and requested that no interference be made with the designated administrator. ”
She accused Mr. Matthew and Mr. Robert of attempting to sell a trust interest in Seidler Kutzenda Management at a below-market price and then rescinding the sale once the attempt became known.
“Alecia has made it clear that Seal is an outsider who does not deserve to be a member of the Seidler family and that she would be foolish to believe that the Seidler family would act in her best interests,” the petition states. There is.
The petition also says Robert and Matthew “made it clear that Seal and his children were not welcome in the owner's box at Petco Park, the Padres' stadium.”
MLB declined to comment.
