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May 20, 2014 Status

On May 20, 2014, the Court entered an Order denying the motions to dismiss filed by Defendants Jupiter Golf Club, LLC (JGC) and RBF, LLC (RBF). JGC, which does business as Trump National Golf Club Jupiter, acquired the golf club facilities from RBF, which was known as The Ritz Carlton Golf Club & Spa Jupiter (Ritz). In August, 2013, plaintiffs had filed a class action complaint against the defendants seeking a return of refundable membership deposits that they had paid and which other club members had paid to RBF/Ritz. Defendants had asked the Court to dismiss the class action complaint. The Court refused to dismiss the case. The parties will now proceed with discovery.

February 25, 2014 Status

Discovery

Plaintiffs have requested that both defendants RBF and Jupiter Golf Club produce documents relevant to the membership deposit claims which are the subject of the lawsuit. In addition, Plaintiffs have served interrogatories on both defendants to obtain additional information that can be used to prosecute the lawsuit on behalf of the three named plaintiffs and a class of other club members whom plaintiffs allege are entitled to receive refunds of their membership deposits. Click here for Plaintiffs’ document requests or interrogatories.

Both defendants have asked the court to stay (stop) discovery while the motions to dismiss are pending. Plaintiffs have not agreed to stay discovery as they are prepared to pursue these claims without delay. We will update this blog when the Court rules on the motion to stay discovery.
Plaintiffs will continue to diligently pursue this litigation with the hopes that meaningful relief maybe obtained for themselves and other club members who seek a refund of their membership deposits.

Briefing Closed on Motions to Dismiss

Defendants’ motions to dismiss have been fully briefed since October 29, 2013. The parties are now awaiting the Court’s ruling on these motions. Any ruling on these motions will be publicly available and posted to our firm’s blog.

Motions to Dismiss

On September 9, 2013, Defendants filed motions to dismiss the complaint arguing that the legal claims set forth in the complaint are not properly or adequately stated. On October 7, Plaintiffs filed a brief opposing the motions to dismiss. Defendants are expected to file their final briefs related to the motions to dismiss by the end of October. Thereafter, the Court will rule on the motions to dismiss.

Amended Complaint Filed

On August 8, 2013, Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint in the putative class action lawsuit against Jupiter Golf Club, LLC and RBF, LLC. The litigation was brought by three members of the Trump National Golf Club – Jupiter on behalf of themselves and other club members who purchased memberships with refundable deposits from the former owner of the club which operated the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club and Spa – Jupiter. Plaintiffs claim that the present and former club owners have failed to refund membership deposits which they are legally required to do. Defendants have filed motions to dismiss the first amended complaint. Plaintiffs’ response to the motion to dismiss will be filed soon.

Complaint Filed

On May 3, 2013, three club members filed a class action complaint against the owner and former owner of Trump National Golf Club Jupiter. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Palm Beach County, Florida, seeks to be certified as a class action in order to 0btain relief for all club members who paid a refundable membership deposit who have been denied a refund.

The lawsuit has been assigned to the Hon. Kenneth A. Marra, a U.S. District Court judge who sits in the Southern District of Florida, Palm Beach Division.

The lawsuit is in the early stages. The club was previously owned by RBF, LLC which operated the club as The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club & Spa Jupiter. Trump’s Jupiter Golf Club, LLC (“Trump”) purchased the club facilities in December, 2012 and began operating the club as Trump National Golf Club Jupiter. Both Trump and RBF, LLC are expected to file a response to the class action complaint by June 28.

Farmer Jaffe Weissing represents the three club members who filed the lawsuit. We will update this page periodically to provide information about the current status of the Trump National Class Action litigation.