Two former members of the Devon Yacht Cub and their spouses, ousted, they allege, over their outspoken opposition to the club’s redevelopment plans, have filed suit against Devon, its commodore, and other members of the club, in New York County Supreme Court on Foley Square.
The plaintiffs not only seek reinstatement, but also compensatory and punitive damages, “in an amount to be determined at trial for reputational harm” for “willful, malicious, and bad-faith conduct.”
The lawsuit, launched by Rod Richardson and Blake Fleetwood, alleges fraud, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, infliction of emotional distress, reputational harm, “discrimination based on familial status,” and “corporate waste and mismanagement.”
In one passage of the court document, Mr. Fleetwood alleges that a former club commodore “threatened to gouge out his eyes, if he ever again emailed her husband” about the redevelopment plans.
In another passage, Mr. Fleetwood, a former journalist, describes being shunned by other members after being accused of writing an article that appeared in this newspaper last September about a contentious meeting held at the club the month before to discuss the redevelopment. Mr. Fleetwood did not write the article; it was written by this reporter.
Construction is at present estimated at $35 million, $23.2 million of it to be covered by a bank loan.
Devon’s application to redevelop, which calls not for renovation but for a complete demolition, relocation, and redesign of most buildings, has been the subject of planning board review for over four years. In presentations to the planning board, the club has often highlighted the environmental benefits of moving its structures landward and greatly improving its septic conditions.
At the same time, Devon has been inflexible over requests to remove tennis courts or to move staff housing off site, which would allow for larger setbacks to numerous environmentally sensitive features on its 13.8-acre lot.
