Former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban is taking his successors to court. Cuban filed a “Rule 202” application in Dallas County District Court seeking pre-suit discovery against current Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont and Arena Development Intermediate LLC.
He alleges he is being completely frozen out of the franchise’s future. The legal filings explicitly accuse Dumont of adversarial business practices and breaking the agreements that governed the $3.5 billion sale of the team in December 2023.
The core of the dispute centers on real estate and basketball control. Cuban claims Dumont shut him out of all decisions regarding the financing and location of a proposed new Mavericks arena outside of downtown Dallas. He argues this exclusion directly conflicts with his existing contractual rights.
But the fallout extends to the court itself. According to the filings, Cuban says his decision to sell his majority stake included a strict handshake deal. He was supposed to retain full authority over basketball operations while Dumont handled the business side.
That arrangement collapsed. Cuban alleges Dumont breached the agreement by elevating former General Manager Nico Harrison to run the basketball side. Cuban claims that specific power shift directly led to the trade of franchise star Luka Dončić.
When Cuban confronted his new business partner about the broken agreement, Dumont allegedly dismissed him over the phone. The filing claims Dumont asked him directly: “Why would I give you control of a $4 billion asset?”
The lawsuit destroys the collaborative image the Adelson family and Dumont projected when they purchased the team, according to initial reports detailing the arena dispute. The unique organizational structure that originally promised Cuban a permanent voice in the Mavericks’ front office is officially dead.