American billionaire Mark Cuban, the former majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has dropped his lawsuit against Patrick Dumont, who he sold the NBA basketball franchise to in 2023, over plans to develop a new arena.
Cuban’s lawyers withdrew his Rule 202 Petition against the team’s governor earlier this week, after it was filed in court in July.
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The petition, filed in Dallas County’s 134th District Court on July 8 and moved to Texas Business Court on July 31, accused Dumont of “adversarial business practices” and sought a pre-suit deposition to receive more details about the Mavericks’ plans to build a new arena and entertainment district.
Cuban and his legal representatives sought sworn testimony from a corporate representative from Arena Development Intermediate, a company the Mavericks formed in Delaware, as the franchise continues its push to develop a new basketball arena in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
The 68-year-old businessman was originally seeking more information about Arena Development Intermediate’s corporate structure and other financial documents.
Cuban, who still owns a minority stake in the Mavericks, claimed he was entitled to information that was withheld from him when the team entered into an option agreement earlier this summer to purchase a 104-acre tract at the former Valley View Mall site in North Dallas for a possible new arena.
In a notice of nonsuit that was filed Monday in the Texas Business Court, Cuban’s lawyers wrote: “It defies belief that the Valley View Options are ‘purely exploratory.’
“But straining to trade a public hearing for a shroud of secrecy, Arena Development Intermediate, LLC, finally revealed what it had concealed: its corporate structure, ultimate ownership, and affiliate status. ADI’s disclosure confirms it is working with … Patrick Dumont and its other associates to violate petitioners’ rights.”
Late on Monday, Cuban’s attorneys filed a notice of nonsuit without prejudice in Texas Business Court. Judge Bill Whitehill subsequently dismissed the case and cancelled the arbitration hearing that was scheduled for Friday.
Whitehill also ordered each side to pay its own legal fees.
However, despite dropping the suit, Cuban’s legal team made it clear in Monday’s filing that he intends to make sure he’s kept in the loop on the Mavericks’ arena plans, using legal means if necessary.
The Mavericks’ lease at American Airlines Center expires in 2031, and the team wants to move into a new arena ahead of the 2031-32 season, with clear interest in building its new home in North Dallas.
The legal squabble marks the latest development in a messy change of ownership at the Mavericks. Cuban sold his majority stake in the team to Dumont and his mother-in-law, Miriam Adelson, in December 2023.
At the time, Cuban said he would maintain control of basketball operations after the sale – but that did not appear to be the case after the franchise made several key decisions that he was not involved in, including the controversial trade of superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024.
Earlier this year, Cuban said that he regretted selling the team to Dumont and Adelson, stating that he “made a lot of mistakes in the process.”
Meanwhile, Cuban recently expanded his sports interests after his new investment group acquired a minority stake in the Athletics ahead of the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise’s move to Las Vegas in 2028.
Private investment firm Harbinger Sports Partners, which he co-launched last year, purchased an undisclosed stake in the team in late July.
When it launched in May 2025, Harbinger Sports Partners signalled its intention to raise $750 million by 2027 to take minority stakes of up to 5% in franchises across MLB, the NBA, and the NFL.
In total, the group intends to make 10 to 12 investments out of its first fund and is actively in talks with other teams. The firm’s deal for the A’s represents its first acquisition.
