NORTH PORT — The fight for cash out of the closed Bobcat Trail golf course continues with ousted owner Richard Regis Smith III arguing against a motion to dismiss his lawsuit.
A Tuesday hearing was canceled in the 12th Judicial District Court for Sarasota.
It was to hear arguments in a motion to dismiss Smith’s lawsuit against Utah-based Celtic Bank and its Sarasota-based attorneys Shannon Puopolo Esquire and Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A.
A second meeting on a related case is set for Thursday. It is unclear if it will address the motion to dismiss — the two cases now address the same issues.
An old fuel tank and other supplies are covered in grass at Charlotte Harbor National Golf Club at Bobcat Trail in North Port.
SUN FILE PHOTO BY DANIEL FINTON
Smith accused the bank and its Sarasota-based attorneys of sabotaging his negotiations with a buyer of the golf course who offered to pay $6.8 million.
Smith’s complaint states the buyer backed out after the bank offered them another deal. Instead, the bank accepted $600,801 from a Naples-based golf course and hospitality company.
The bank has an October deposition set for Smith.
Celtic Bank is seeking discovery about communication between Smith and several real estate companies, as well as a Las Vegas-based investor.
Neither Smith nor his lawyer, Benjamin Chase, could be reached for comment. Smith still owed the bank about $3.4 million. The federal government covers the cost of a loan sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Bobcat Trail resident Doug McNamee said he believes Smith will continue to delay to avoid deposition.
“He’s trying to squeeze out a settlement,” McNamee told The Daily Sun.
McNamee and his spouse are one of 13 Bobcat Trail households who loaned Smith money to buy the course and then more for another golf venture.
McNamee is hoping discovery will reveal how Smith paid property taxes after the course was closed, along with legal fees.
The bank foreclosed on the golf course, although Smith fought that in court.
On July 1, a judge ruled against Smith’s attempts to halt a sale by auction. It was sold to ITG Golf Management LLC on April 17. The new owners plan to reopen the course next fall. The property has sat derelict for seven years.
Residents say they’re happy the property will remain a golf course, and not a high-density housing subdivision that Smith sought.
A tree knocked down during Hurricane Ian lays across the course at Charlotte Harbor National Golf Club at Bobcat Trail.
SUN FILE PHOTO BY DANIEL FINTON
While the sale is over, Smith continues to seek payment from the bank. On Friday, Smith’s lawyer filed a response to the bank’s motion to dismiss as well as the law firm’s. The response argues their motions to dismiss are invalid, because they argue the facts of the case rather than whether the motion is legally permitted.
“Defendants’ motion does not identify a single pleading deficiency. Instead, it raises factual defenses and legal arguments that are improper at the motion to dismiss stage,” the rebuttal from Smith’s attorneys states.
In his motion, Smith asks a judge to force the bank and law firm to cover his legal expenses.
In its earlier motion to dismiss, the bank called Smith’s allegations of fraud and sabotage “incredible.” Given the limitations of a motion to dismiss, they pursued other arguments.
They argue a bank can’t illegally interfere with a sale in a transaction they are already a party to. They also argue Smith provides no facts to show the bank or its attorneys gained financially by preventing the $6.8 million sale.
And they argued Smith can’t sue based on an alleged verbal contract to allow Smith to negotiate with the alleged buyer.