Costa said she was offended by the way she was told of what was coming -- by letter. She said she and many others left a meeting with club managers about a week later perplexed. “Nobody would answer our questions,” she said. The attitude surprised her since Icahn took great pains to revive New Seabury, which was in disrepair. “He saved the place from going down the drain.”
Ralph Lepore, an attorney, paid $75,000 in 2008 for a platinum membership, then the top of the scale. His yearly dues are $14,100. Under the new scheme, Lepore said he and others like him would face tough choices: Moving to a category called diamond would mean losing their initiation fees’ refundability, something now guaranteed at a pro-rated sum for 20 years. To keep the refund perk, Lepore would have to pay $2,500 more annually and give up access to the new fitness facility -- a proposition he slams as coercion.
The lawsuit filed on April 8 is a request to reopen the bankruptcy agreement that made the Icahn sale possible. There are just four plaintiffs, but the angry golfers said that 270 people attended a meeting about the suit at Christ the King Church in Mashpee last weekend.
Tacelli, a golf member for three years, said he believes Icahn knows nothing about the controversy, which is why he would like a meeting.
“I’d say, ‘Tell us what you’re trying to do. We’re all business guys, we can work this out.”’