New York Times: Golfers Say Trump Reneged on Deal

By Joe Nocera:

Three days after the sale was completed, Trump held a meeting at his new resort. He told the assembled members that he was eager to make Trump National Jupiter “one of the finest clubs anywhere in the world!” as he put it in a Dec. 17 letter that reiterated what he had said in the meeting. But its membership rules were “antiquated,” preventing the resort from becoming “ultra-luxurious” and “ultra-prestigious.”

He told the members that if they wanted to remain in the resort, they would have to give up their refundable deposit; in return, he would freeze their dues for three years (saving them, at most, $20,000), and give them the right to play at other Trump golf courses (for a fee, of course). Members who stayed but didn’t accept that deal would be denied those benefits and see an immediate dues increase of $4,000. Stuck with the homes and time shares they had bought, many of the home-owning members accepted the deal.

But there was also one other category of members: those on the resignation list. By the time Trump took over the Jupiter resort, the resignation list had grown to an astonishing 150 members. That was more than half the club.

During the time the Ritz ran the resort, people who put themselves on the resignation list still had access to the resort and the golf course, and they still paid dues. And why wouldn’t they? Until new members joined, allowing them to recoup their deposit, they were still members of the resort. They hadn’t resigned, but simply announced their desire to resign.

Trump, however, wanted nothing to do with them. He immediately barred them from the club, and said he would no longer accept their dues. (According to a brief filed by the plaintiffs in the class-action suit, Trump later complained that the people on the resignation list were in arrears on their dues.) As he bluntly put it in his Dec. 17 letter, “If you choose to remain on the resignation list — you’re out.”

According to one attendee, the members listened in stunned silence.

The Full Article (February 26, 2016)