A judge has ruled that the eight owners of the Hawks and Thrashers must return to the same operating agreement they shared before their split back in 2005.

Judge Durke G. Thompson ruled that the contract the owners reached that would allow the seven owners to buy out Steve Belkin was too ambiguous.

Also at stake are the operating rights to Philips Arena, where the Hawks and Thrashers play.

"The court did exactly what we asked it to do. We are back under the operating agreement which we think is a good agreement. We no longer have any obligation to buy out Belkin nor does Belkin have any right to purchase the Hawks and Thrashers," one of the Atlanta-based owners, Michael Gearon, told the Associated Press.