Two Phoenix Suns and Mercury minority owners have dismissed their lawsuit against majority owner Mat Ishbia. But they still intend to sue Ishbia. Brett Davis / Imagn Images
Andy Kohlberg and Scott Seldin, the two Phoenix Suns and Mercury minority owners who sued majority owner Mat Ishbia and the organization in August, dismissed their lawsuit in Delaware court Friday. But they intend to file another lawsuit over what their attorney says is “mismanagement” by Ishbia, the franchises’ governor.
“Our clients succeeded in their books and records action in obtaining information we were seeking and have discontinued that case,” said Michael Carlinsky, an attorney representing Kohlberg and Seldin. “We are now focused on the critical phase in our litigation, which will involve our clients’ assertion of claims for mismanagement and other misconduct and look forward to their day in court.”
Kohlberg and Seldin, the only two holdovers from the previous Robert Sarver-led ownership group, had sued to get access to the organization’s books and accused Ishbia of a lack of transparency after he made a capital call and initiated a fundraising round with the Suns’ ownership group this past summer.
Those events have led to dueling lawsuits. Kohlberg and Seldin say Ishbia was trying to dilute their ownership stakes and pressuring them with the fundraising round. Ishbia said that their lawsuit was a part of a negative PR campaign and an attempt by them to get an “extortionate” buyout of their stakes in the team at a higher value.
“When Mat Ishbia bought the Suns and Mercury, he couldn’t have been clearer with investors: he was going to invest in the teams, the fans and the community,” a spokesperson for Ishbia said earlier this week. “Every investor had the choice at that point — sell at premium or stay in and invest alongside him. Andy Kohlberg and Scott Seldin want it both ways. They don’t want to invest in the teams, but they are demanding a payday significantly higher than what Mat originally offered, which was still over 20-times their original investment. That’s not how it works, and we’re confident we’ll prevail in court.”
Earlier this fall, Ishbia said he would not settle the lawsuits filed against him and the franchise.
Ishbia bought the Suns from Sarver in 2023 at a then-league record $4 billion valuation. Sarver sold the team after he was suspended for a year and fined $10 million by the NBA following a league investigation that found he had been discriminatory and created a hostile workplace.
Oct 17, 2025
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