Three days before their scheduled trail date, Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson and his heirs settled their lawsuit.
The terms of the settlement aren't known and will be kept confidential, according to Bobby Rosenthal and Mary Rowe, both of whom oversee the trusts.
As NOLA.com's Greg LaRose explained, Benson wanted "to remove the ownership stakes of the teams from trusts for Renee Benson and her children Rita and Ryan LeBlanc."
Renee is Tom's daughter. That's what prompted the lawsuit, as the trustees alleged that "the assets Tom Benson wanted to swap for the team shares weren't equal in value," LaRose wrote.
Here's what the trustees said about the settlement, via NOLA.com:
"The New Orleans Saints are among the elite, iconic franchises in professional sports, and the Pelicans are making their mark as a highly competitive and successful franchise in its own right, as well as an important part of the fabric of the City of New Orleans. Keeping these two teams in New Orleans and ensuring their future vitality has always been the highest priority for the family beneficiaries and the trustees. We are optimistic about the future success and prosperity of these two franchises," the trustees said.
"From the beginning of this lengthy legal process, our sole objective has been to ensure that any exchanged assets were of fair and equal value. We believe this settlement does just that, and are pleased with this ultimate outcome."
And here's what Benson said, via the Saints' team website:
"This has been a long and difficult time and we are pleased this is behind us," Benson said. "We have many great projects ahead and look forward to them. In addition, we continue to strive for our number one goal and that is winning championships in football and basketball."
The settlement ends a battle that got bizarre at certain points. Last May, it was revealed that Benson testified in court that his daughter and grandchildren "tried to kill me."
