A New York Supreme Court judge ruled that New York City cannot void the golf course contract with Trump Organization, saying former mayor Bill de Blasio was interpreting the contract in a way not as written.
The de Blasio administration notified Trump Organization on Jan. 15, 2021, that they were terminating the company’s license for a golf course in Throgs Neck of the Bronx borough.
The city initially claimed that the Jan. 6 event at the Capitol was the reason behind this decision. But de Blasio officials changed course and stated that the city was canceling the contract because Trump Organization was incapable of attracting professional tournament quality events to the Ferry Points golf course.
The city cited the decision of the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) to support its decision.
“The PGA’s decision to cancel the 2022 PGA Championship at a Trump-branded golf course demonstrates that a key purpose of the License Agreement has been undermined,” the city argued. “We believe it is clear that neither the PGA nor any similar tournament event organizer will wish to associate its event with the Licensed Premises as long as it is associated with the Trump brand.”
Some protesters, most of them supporters of President Donald Trump, stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
PGA announced afterward that they would pull the 2022 championship from Trump’s Bedminster Golf Club in New Jersey.
However, as the contract between the city and Trump Organization didn’t mention specifically the duty of hosting PGA-style events, the city claimed the text of the contract is ambiguous.
Judge Debra James rejected the city’s interpretation and said there’s no ambiguity in the contract.
“Here, the court agrees with petitioner that there is no ambiguity in the obligation in the Agreement that petitioner is required to ‘operate a first-class, tournament quality daily fee golf course,’” she wrote in the ruling.
By Allen Zhong
