Dodgers owner Mark Walter’s legal troubles deepen with wave of new lawsuits

The Los Angeles Dodgers being in a 2-0 NLCS hole isn’t Mark Walter’s only worry right now.

The Dodgers’ controlling owner and chairman was hit with a lawsuit that alleged he and two of his insurers, Clear Spring and Gainbridge, sold annuities based on misrepresentations and false promises.

Los Angeles Dodgers chairman Mark Walter speaks during a press conference announcing a partnership between the Los Angeles Dodgers and UNIQLO at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. MediaNews Group via Getty Images

The lawsuit was filed on Monday by Los Angeles retiree Rick Phillips, who is requesting that he and other Clear Spring and Gainbridge policyholders either gets release from their annuity contracts without penalty or, according to the Wall Street Journal’s Heather Gillers, “reimbursed for the difference between what they paid and the cheaper price the companies might have had to accept had they been upfront about the extent of their affiliated investments.”

A 76-year-old Florida resident named Robert Kalinsky filed a separate lawsuit against Clear Spring and Delaware Life (one of Walter’s other insurance companies) on Wednesday, alleging that they misrepresented the extent of their affiliated assets in his policy.

CEO and owner Mark Walter of the Los Angeles Dodgers waves to the crowd during the 2025 Back-to-Back World Champions Ring Ceremony prior to a game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Los Angeles. MLB Photos via Getty Images

Ira Rosner, a Delaware resident, filed a lawsuit last month, which meant that three have piled up against Walter and his companies over the past six weeks.

A spokesman for Group 1001, the insurers’ parent company, released a statment that read, “No court has ruled that Group 1001 Insurance or Delaware Life Insurance Company did anything wrong, and we intend to defend the case vigorously, consistent with our long track record of serving policyholders with integrity.”

Walter sold his controlling stake in the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA franchise over the summer for $12.6 billion. The timing of this sale raised eyebrows, given that Walter’s financial empire was under scrutiny from the SEC over whether billions of dollars in funds from his affiliated insurance companies were properly disclosed.

Walter and his companies have denied any wrongdoing and have not been charged for a crime. There is also nothing to directly suggest that the SEC’s findings were tied to Walter’s Lakers sale.

Los Angeles Dodgers owner and chairman Mark Walter speaks during a ceremony to unveil a statue of former Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, Saturday, June 18, 2022. Getty Images

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