Donald J. Trump has another legal trap to negotiate while on his campaign for the White House: angry golfers testifying against him.
Trump’s already embroiled in legal fights on both coasts with former Trump University students complaining they were the victims of fraud and with celebrity chefs who pulled out of deals to open restaurants in his new Washington D.C. hotel. Now, a judge has ordered his company to go on trial next month in Florida over a dispute about unpaid golf membership refunds.
Some members of the Trump National Golf Club Jupiter sued to get their money back after Trump allegedly changed the membership rules following his 2012 acquisition of the money-losing venture from Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. for $5 million. Trump told them if they didn’t like the new rules to get lost.
“If you choose to remain on the resignation list, you’re out,” Trump wrote in a 2012 letter to the members, according to a document that will be offered into evidence at the trial in West Palm Beach federal court. “As the owner of the club, I do not want them to utilize the club nor do I want their dues.”
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A federal judge this week denied Trump’s request to have the lawsuit dismissed and the case is set to go to trial in August.
The judge found that on three grounds the club didn’t breach the membership agreement, although a fourth remains in dispute.
“We view the ruling as favorable,” said Alan Garten, general counsel for the Trump Organization.
The trial won’t be a distraction to Trump because he won’t be required to testify, Garten said.
A federal judge in San Diego set Nov. 28 as the start date for a trial over the Trump University fraud claims and said on July 22 that he’s also leaning toward letting former students with racketeering claims take their case to trial.