In a letter addressed to the San Diego Padres’ corporate partners and fans, Matt Seidler responded Tuesday to a lawsuit filed by his sister-in-law, Sheel Seidler, and emphasized that relocation of the franchise has not been discussed or considered.
The letter was issued a day after Sheel Seidler, the wife of late Padres owner Peter Seidler, sued Matt Seidler and his brother, Robert Seidler, accusing them of breaches of fiduciary duty and fraud while stating her case to be named control person of the Padres.
“Sheel’s claims against Bob and me are entirely untrue, and we will vigorously defend ourselves against them,” Matt Seidler wrote in the letter. “That said, the false accusations in her complaint will not distract the Padres organization from continuing its great momentum on and off the field in San Diego.”
Notably, the letter disputes Sheel Seidler’s suggestion in her lawsuit that Matt Seidler’s decision to nominate a third Seidler brother, John Seidler, as control person may be part of an effort to relocate the Padres.
“This is completely false. It is also laughable — the San Diego fans are the best in baseball, and Petco Park is the best ballpark in MLB,” Matt Seidler wrote. He added in bold and underlined letters: “To clarify the record without ambiguity, relocating the Padres from San Diego has never been discussed or contemplated.”
While the letter does not address Sheel Seidler’s claim that Matt Seidler, the trustee of the trust that controls the Padres, may be seeking to sell the team, it provides counterarguments to a number of other allegations levied in Sheel Seidler’s lawsuit.
In Monday’s filing, Sheel Seidler claimed that her late husband expressed that he wished for her to take over as the Padres’ control person in the future.
To @Padres fans, I want you to hear directly from me. Peter and I had a mission to bring championship baseball to San Diego. That remains my commitment to you. Read my full statement below. pic.twitter.com/YW605jZ0P8
— Sheel Seidler (@sheel_padres) January 6, 2025
As part of his letter, Matt Seidler wrote: “Peter had many conversations with Bob, John, and me regarding the Control Person role, including identifying those family members he considered to be potential candidates for this position, and consistently reaffirmed his confidence in each of us, if and when the time came for any of us to designate the Padres’ Control Person. Peter never mentioned Sheel as a potential candidate for Control Person to Bob, John, or me.”
Reiterating a statement issued Monday on behalf of Peter Seidler’s trust, Matt Seidler also claimed that his late brother left the designation of the franchise’s next permanent control person in the hands of his trustee. He added that he did not seek that responsibility, writing that he instead accepted it after Robert Seidler resigned from the trustee position in May 2024 due to a personal health matter.
“Unfortunately, Sheel filed this lawsuit because, despite Peter’s contrary instructions, she wants to control the San Diego Padres franchise,” Matt Seidler wrote. “She may be disappointed that Peter did not designate her as the trustee of his trust, name her as the Padres’ Control Person, and/or give her the right to approve the Control Person. Had Peter intended any of these things, he could have easily made that intention clear in the governing documents, which he amended for other matters several times before and after he became Control Person in 2020.
“Additionally, Peter’s trust agreement specifically excludes Sheel from ever serving as trustee and gives her no role or rights with respect to the Control Person designation. During Peter’s leadership of the Padres, he never chose to make Sheel an executive, director, officer, or employee of the Padres,” the letter said.
Last month, the Padres announced they settled on John Seidler, the oldest of Peter’s 10 siblings, as their next permanent control person, pending approval by three-quarters of Major League Baseball’s owners. As of Tuesday afternoon, a vote had not been formally scheduled; one could take place during the owners’ meetings next month in Florida.
In Tuesday’s letter, Matt Seidler described Sheel Seidler’s request to be nominated as control person, which she also detailed in her lawsuit, as “confusing.”
“In fact, on May 30, 2024, she told me that she felt John would be the optimal Control Person for the Padres franchise to fulfill Peter’s vision,” Matt Seidler wrote. “Nevertheless, I considered Sheel’s request, and ultimately determined, consistent with Peter’s perspective, that she was not qualified. The Padres still continue to welcome Sheel, and her and Peter’s three children, with open arms as part of the Padres family.”
As part of her complaint, Sheel Seidler said she and her children were not welcomed in the Petco Park ownership suite during games and that Matt and Robert Seidler informed team employees “that Sheel is not an owner of the team, and that her presence and input are not welcome in interacting with free agents and current players.” The lawsuit also claimed that Robert Seidler’s wife, Alecia, made “multiple racist, profane, and hateful communications directed at Sheel — a woman of Indian descent.”
Responding to the latter allegation, Matt Seidler wrote: “Sheel is well aware that this individual faces difficult personal health challenges and, most importantly, that the hurtful language does not at all reflect the thoughts or feelings of any other family member. My siblings and I have always loved and supported Peter and Sheel’s family all throughout their 15-year marriage.”
As part of his letter, Matt Seidler, the youngest sibling in his family, described a close personal and professional relationship with Peter Seidler.
“Peter was truly one of a kind,” wrote Matt Seidler, a partner at the private equity firm Peter Seidler co-founded with Robert Seidler and Eric Kutsenda, the Padres’ current interim control person. “I looked up to him my whole life. He was my brother, a trusted business partner, a close friend, and a father figure to me at times given our 19-year age gap.”
Matt Seidler suggested that he shared such background as support for his belief that Peter Seidler “was an expert on methodically setting up partnerships with clear governance and a stewardship mindset, always with an eye toward building organizations that would survive well past any one individual.”
(Photo: Brandon Sloter / Getty Images)
