A revolt within the ranks of the prestigious National Golf Club on the Mornington Peninsula has escalated into a defamation dispute following a series of disagreements among members. Former club captain Bill Stevens has issued a “concerns notice” to National chair Patricia Cross-Meadows and current club captain Andrew Tunks through his lawyer.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“The publications impugned our client’s honesty and integrity by suggesting that he had knowingly misled shareholders,” the concerns notice from Stevens’ law firm Hall & Wilcox said, per Code Sports. “The imputations … are serious and false. They have caused (and continue to cause) serious harm to our client’s reputation, as well as ongoing hurt and embarrassment…
“Each of the publications was published to more than 3,000 members and other participants of the club, being the very community in which our client’s reputation as a former chairman and captain was built… Rather than correcting the record, Cross-Meadows, Tunks, the Company and the Club chose to attack our client personally and cast aspersions regarding his motivation and integrity.
“The letter to all members … described our client’s conduct as ‘unacceptable’ and as bordering on ‘conduct unbecoming of a member of our great club’. Our client has received, and continues to receive, further derogatory correspondence from members of the club which echo the imputations.
“Since the publications were made, our client has been shunned and avoided by members of the club when he attends to play. This change in behaviour was observed immediately following the Publications and continues to deteriorate.”
All this stems from a financial dispute. The club was facing rising capital costs across its golf facilities at Cape Schanck and Frankston. So, the club’s financial situation became a point of concern among the members. To help cover these costs, the board proposed issuing up to 300 new shares/memberships.
However, the proposal triggered opposition from a group of members concerned about the potential increase in membership numbers. Stevens then became the leader of this rebel group. He argued that the resolution would give the club the unconditional right to issue 300 shares at once, rather than limiting new memberships to 30 annually.
Despite Stevens’ claims, the board rejected his interpretation in an email to members last month, stating that it “unconditionally” disagreed with his assessment and insisting that an annual cap of 30 new memberships was in place. The club’s leadership also sent communications to its 3,200 members, opposing his campaign.
That said, a letter from former chairman and captain Peter Jonson is also cited in Stevens’ notice. It, dated October 29, asked members to reject Stevens’ ‘No’ campaign. However, a metadata search conducted by other members revealed that a club official had been the author of the letter rather than Jonson himself.
When National chief executive Matt Corby was questioned regarding this revelation by the Herald Sun, he provided an explanation.
“The author of the letter was Mr Jonson,” Corby said. “Mr Jonson sent a draft of the letter to the Club for factual verification before it was sent to shareholders.”
Now, with a defamation case looming, the financial disagreement continues within the club. Stevens’ group also argues that the club’s financial difficulties stem from its 2015 merger with Long Island Country Club. So, they believe selling the Long Island property could help secure the long-term future of the three-course facility at Cape Schanck.