Lawyer says he switched postnuptial agreement to give Frank McCourt sole ownership of Dodgers

Lawyer says he switched McCourt postnup agreement

LOS ANGELES — A lawyer who drafted the postnuptial agreement for Frank and Jamie McCourt testified Tuesday that he switched versions after it was signed to give Frank McCourt sole ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Testifying Tuesday at the couple’s LA divorce trial, Larry Silverstein said he changed the postnuptial agreement in 2004 to list the Dodgers as McCourt’s separate property — and never told Jamie McCourt that the new version gave her husband sole ownership of the baseball team.

The agreement is at the center of the dispute between the McCourts over the Dodgers, the stadium and surrounding land worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The fate of the Dodgers could hinge on whether Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon decides whether the pact is valid. He could order the sale of the team.

Jamie McCourt’s attorney, David Bois, asked Silverstein whether it was acceptable to switch a legal document after it was signed and notarized.

“In certain circumstances, yes,” Silverstein replied.

He has not explained why he made the changes.

A judge is trying to determine why there are three copies of the agreement that say the Dodgers belong solely to Frank McCourt and three that don’t.

The McCourts signed all the copies, although Jamie McCourt testified Monday that she never read the document.

Silverstein gave the McCourts the copies to sign shortly after the Dodgers were bought for about $430 million.

It wasn’t until a few months ago, after forensic analysts were hired by both sides to examine the six copies, that it was determined Silverstein made the changes.

Frank McCourt’s attorneys chalked up the difference in the documents to a typographical error.

In a deposition taken in April, Silverstein said that he went through the documents “paragraph by paragraph” with the McCourts.

On Monday, Jamie McCourt testified that no one told her what the pact entailed and what would happen if the couple divorced.

She said she relied on her husband and Silverstein and thought the agreement was only meant to protect a half-dozen luxury homes in her name from her husband’s business creditors.

Jamie McCourt added that if she had read the document or comprehended that she would give up the rights to the Dodgers, it would have “sounded a lot of alarms” and she would have questioned Silverstein.

“I believe I understood it, but it did more than what it was intended to do,” she said.