Comparing the arguments of Clay Bennett's legal team to be "as errant as a typical Shaquille O'Neal free throw," Judge Ricardo Martinez ensured the lease battle between the City of Seattle and the Seattle Sonics over Key Arena will have its day in court. He determined that the language of Article II of the lease clearly states that the terms and length of the lease was not subject to arbitration and would require legal review. He also determined that the Sonics favorite section, Sub Section D Article XXV, was written before the addition of Article II which demonstrates the intent of the parties involved to exclude the terms and length of the lease from arbitration. The arbitration clause was originally added by the former owners (SSI) to allow the team to handle issues that might arise during design and construction phases should they not be on schedule and effect the start of their occupancy. Article II was added later to specifically exclude the length of the lease from the arbitration clause.</p> Next the judge must determine whether the case should have a jury trial as requested by the city or be determined solely by a judge. At issue is whether the team can simply pay their remaining lease payments or if they are required to honor the Specific Performanceclausein the contract that indicates they are required to play all non-exhibition games in Key Arena through 2010. Based on current federal court backlogs a preliminary hearing could be delayed as much as a year. Given the pending legal issues the Sonics will be unlikely to be able to relocate until the court decides the issue. If that is indeedthe case, they will likely be forced to play in Seattle for at least the 2008/2009 season.</p> District Court Ruling</p>
