Donald Sterling’s mental fitness won’t feature at Clippers trial

The mental capacity of Los Angeles Clippers co-owner Donald Sterling will not be part of an upcoming probate trial over whether his estranged wife had the authority to sell the NBA team, a judge said on Monday, averting a battle over Sterling's mental fitness. The four-day trial, which is set to start on July 7, will focus on whether Shelly Sterling properly installed herself as sole controlling trustee of the family trust that owns the Clippers after two physicians deemed her 80-year-old husband mentally incapable to handle business. "Their examinations were not complete." Sterling, who has owned the Clippers for 33 years, was banned for life by the National Basketball Association in April and fined $2.5 million after privately taped racist remarks were leaked to celebrity website TMZ.com. Attorneys for both parties also agreed that Donald Sterling revoked the family trust following the sale to Ballmer.