In December 2015, the city received $2.5 million in a settlement with a fungicide manufacturer over tainted chemicals that destroyed portions of the club’s turf, causing all 18 greens to be closed for about three months. The city says it has a no-refund policy built into membership contracts, but a group of members is accusing the city of negligence and breach of contract.
A group of Rye (N.Y.) Golf Club members have filed a lawsuit against the city after parts of the course were left unplayable in 2015 due to tainted fungicide, the Lower Hudson Valley, N.Y., Journal News reported.
The suit, filed February 2 in state Supreme Court, accuses the city-owned club of negligence and breach of contract, the Journal News reported.
In December 2015, the city received $2.5 million in a settlement with fungicide manufacturer Tessenderlo Kerley Inc., TKI, over tainted chemicals that destroyed portions of the club’s turf. As a result of the damage, all 18 greens had to be closed for about three months in the summer of 2015, the Journal News reported.
“These members paid for a service, one of the main parts of which is a playable 18-hole golf course,” said Stephen Florek, an attorney representing the plaintiffs. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t what was delivered to them.”
The city, which owns the golf club and operates it as a self-sustaining enterprise fund, has a no-refund policy which is built into membership contracts. “The club has always had a strict no-refund policy, and these three families acknowledged just that when they joined,” said city Councilman Terrance McCartney. “We think we have a clear case.”
The city earmarked over $2.1 million of the settlement money for club capital projects, a discount incentive to retain members and to settle small claims stemming from the problem. The plaintiffs, however, chose not to take a refund on their 2015 membership fees and discount on their 2016 fees that came with the condition they sign a waiver exempting the club from future litigation, according to the suit. The suit also claims the club negligently applied the recalled fungicide to the golf course greens, the Journal News reported.
“We had no knowledge that it was tainted when we applied it,” said Rye Corporation Counsel Kristen Wilson. “That allegation is inaccurate and baseless.”
The legal challenge is another chapter in what has been a difficult few years for the club. In December 2016, the city agreed to pay $1 million to a group of former and current employees at the club to settle a class action lawsuit that stemmed from allegations of unpaid tips and stolen wages, the Journal News reported.
The suit was filed in December 2013, shortly after former manager Scott Yandrasevich resigned. He was sentenced in August 2015 to one to three years in state prison after pleading guilty to felony fraud charges, the Journal News reported.
“I like to think we’re cleaning up the house,” McCartney said. “We inherited this mess and we are hoping this is the last thing we’ve got to deal with.”
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