Trump Organization Wins Lawsuit Over Ferry Point Golf Course

(Bloomberg) -- The Trump Organization persuaded a judge to let it keep operating the Ferry Point golf course in the Bronx, fighting off the city’s attempt to cancel the contract.

The city ended $17 million worth of contracts with the company in February 2021 after the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, including deals to operate a carousel and two ice rinks in Central Park. The company, which had a Nov. 14 deadline to leave the course, sued the city in June.

New York said the organization breached a provision of the contract that required it to “operate a course capable of attracting professional tournament-quality events.” 

The city argued that the PGA of America’s announcement in January that it wouldn’t hold its annual championship at Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey, course led it to believe that no golf organization would associate itself with the Bronx course if it was connected to Trump after the Capitol riot, according to the suit. 

But New York State Supreme Court Justice Debra James on Friday vacated the city’s decision to cancel the contract for Ferry Point, saying that there is no such obligation in their agreement. James noted that while the deal allowed the city to cancel the agreement at will, New York wasn’t citing that section in its decision to terminate the contract.

“Anyone holding a city concession is held to a high standard,” a spokesperson for the city’s Law Department said in a statement. “We are disappointed in the court’s decision, and we are reviewing our legal options.”

The Trump Organization said it had fully complied with its obligations to operate the links-style, Jack Nicklaus-designed facility, which opened in 2015, as a “first class, tournament-quality, daily-fee golf course.” The company said Mayor Bill de Blasio was politically motivated in terminating the contracts and that the city used the events of Jan. 6 as a pretext to end them. 

The case is Trump Ferry Point LLC v. Mitchell J. Silver, 155933/2021, New York State Supreme Court, New York County.

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