A month after the Glenmary Homeowners Association Board of Directors signed a contract with owners Par Golf LLC to buy the Louisville, Ky., property for $2.15M, they canceled the deal, prompting Par Golf to file litigation accusing breach of agreement. Further complicating the matter, lawsuits between the homeowners association members and Board of Directors have arisen as well.
The Glenmary Homeowners Association Board of Directors signed a contract with Glenmary Country Club owners Par Golf LLC last fall for $2.15 million, but a dispute leaves the fate of the property up in the air, the Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal reported.
Within a month, new board members canceled the contract, leading Par Golf to file litigation accusing the board of breaching the agreement and to renew its plans to develop about 6 acres of the Louisville, Ky., golf course, the Courier-Journal reported.
The homeowners association has responded that the land cannot be developed based on restrictions in the property’s deed, and has also filed a lawsuit against Par Golf and the Louisville Metro Planning Commission. The commission is scheduled to continue discussions of the development on February 20, the Courier-Journal reported.
Par Golf first approached homeowners in January 2013, saying it could not pay debt on the property and would have to sell it or face foreclosure, resident David C. Caldwell said. Residents saw the opportunity to purchase the golf course as a way to control the open land that weaves by their homes, the Courier-Journal reported.
“We did not start out wanting to buy a golf course,” Caldwell said. “The community wants to purchase the land to ensure that we, as a community, control the future of how that land is utilized.”
In September, 639 of about 850 homes in the subdivision voted on buying the land, with 360 in favor of purchasing and 279 against. The association’s board of directors signed a contract with Par Golf two weeks later, shortly before three new board members took office, the Courier-Journal reported.
The three new members, along with board president Ron Huff, voted November 12 to terminate the contract, which required them to secure “suitable financing” by December 2, according to court documents.
Board attorney Donald Cox said the association had two loan offers, but they came with conditions and were not deemed suitable by the board. Par Golf’s attorney, Bill Bardenwerper, said the owners offered to extend the contract’s deadline, but board members wanted a lower price, the Courier-Journal reported.
The $2.15 million price was based on a 2011 appraisal of the land, Caldwell said. The board of directors paid for its own appraisal, which estimated the value of the golf course at $1.1 million, the Courier-Journal reported.
Par Golf offered to reduce the price to $2 million, but the board did not accept. The owners have since sought to file a lawsuit against the association, arguing that it breached the contract, the Courier-Journal reported.
The lawsuit followed a complaint filed November 21 with Jefferson Circuit Court by two former board members, Wayne Guthrie and Judy Johnson, against the four members who voted to revoke the contract. The plaintiffs state the board members breached their fiduciary duties by conflicting personal interests with those of the association, the Courier-Journal reported.
The board members filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, saying the individuals acted on behalf of the association, which should have been named in the lawsuit instead, the Courier-Journal reported.
With the sale in limbo, Par Golf has submitted a request to the planning commission to sell three residential plots and convert about 48 acres into a conservation subdivision, the Courier-Journal reported.
The owners considered the plan before as a way to pay their debt but put it aside while they negotiated with the homeowners, Bardenwerper said.
The planning commission has already started discussing the development, but Cox filed a lawsuit on behalf of the homeowners association, which hopes to stop the process. If the plan is approved, the commission would violate deed restrictions that determine how the golf course land can be used, Cox told the Courier-Journal.
“The ultimate goal is to complete the sale in honor of what the community voted,” Caldwell said. “Our preference is clearly to settle it and purchase it now.”
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.