( CNN ) -- With a probate court trial over the sale of the Los Angeles Clippers scheduled to begin Monday , lawyers for Donald Sterling filed paperwork Thursday to have the matter moved to federal court . Donald Sterling 's estranged wife , Shelly , is asking a probate judge to approve an agreement she reached with billionaire Steve Ballmer to sell the NBA team . For years , she and her husband had equal shares in the franchise through a family trust , but Shelly Sterling negotiated a deal in late May to sell the team after two doctors declared her husband was mentally incapacitated . Donald Sterling 's lawyers filed a notice of removal in U.S. District Court in central California requesting the change of courts . Shelly Sterling 's attorney called Thursday 's legal maneuvering a `` desperate act by a desperate man . '' `` This latest bad-faith maneuver on the eve of his reckoning is a cowardly ploy to do just one thing : Kill a record-setting $ 2 billion sale of the Clippers , '' Pierce O'Donnell said . Donald Sterling 's court filing says a probate court is not the proper jurisdiction for the case . His lead attorney said his privacy rights have been violated . `` As we have stated repeatedly and from the onset of this matter , it is our contention that Donald 's privacy rights have been trampled by the release of his medical records , '' attorney Bobby Samini said . `` In our request for removal to federal court , we have reasserted that Donald 's rights under HIPAA ( Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ) and other federal privacy laws have been violated . '' O'Donnell called the claim `` preposterous , '' saying that Donald Sterling , who is a lawyer , authorized release of his medical records as a term of the trust . Ballmer 's attorney , Adam Streisand , said in a statement that he would file for emergency relief in federal court to block the move , which he called frivolous . He predicted it would delay Monday 's trial as they waited for a federal judge to respond to their request . A message on the District Court 's website said it would be closed Friday . Donald Sterling , 80 , has been embroiled in controversy since a recording of a conversation with his friend V. Stiviano was posted online in late April . The recording included a series of racist comments . Sterling 's comments , first posted on TMZ , sparked outrage among NBA players , executives and fans . NBA commissioner Adam Silver fined Sterling $ 2.5 million and banned him for life from the NBA . The NBA 's board of governors , representatives from each of the 30 ownership groups , is scheduled to meet July 15 and could approve a sale then if the legal aspects of the deal are sorted out . For the team to be sold , either Donald Sterling would have to sign a binding term sheet or a court would have to agree Shelly Sterling acted legally in selling the team . Donald Sterling 's mental capacity not issue for trial . Donald Sterling accused of threatening to 'take out ' wife 's lawyer , sue doctors . Judge denies witness protection request by Donald Sterling 's wife . CNN 's Lindy Hall and Rosalina Nieves contributed to this report .
Lawyers for Miss Sterling filed paperwork with a federal court . Right now the case is in a state probate court . The hearing to decide if Shelly Sterling had the right to sell the Clippers was to begin tomorrow . That could be changed -- or changed -- depending on how the federal judge rules .