Suit Claims Wellington Broke Rules in Allowing 2013 Dressage Festival
Mitra Malek - Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
WELLINGTON — The billionaire family suing developers of an equestrian venue aimed at drawing worldwide talent claim in a new lawsuit that Wellington violated its rules when it allowed the Global Dressage Festival to move forward this season.
The suit, filed last week, seeks to amend a lawsuit the Jacobs family filed earlier this year, which also challenges the village.
It is a departure from support the Jacobses gave this summer to Mark Bellissimo so that his team could carry out dressage events through April.
“You can’t tell the village on one hand you’re in favor of dressage, and then at the same time challenge it,” said Dan Rosenbaum, a lawyer for Equestrian Sport Productions, the developers. “It just doesn’t make sense. When all is said and done it’s one of these wide-sweeping efforts to continue the legal fight because they were not satisfied with the court’s rulings to date.”
The courts in October ruled against two lawsuits that the Jacobses filed in March challenging the Equestrian Village project, but the family has appealed them.
“We believe the village has every right to do exactly what they did,” Rosenbaum said. “They have every right to permit the festival.”
In practical terms, there’s little chance the amendment would actually shutter the festival, Rosenbaum said.
And that is fine with the Jacobs, said their lawyer, John Shubin.
“The fact that our clients are seeking to amend the lawsuit does not, and I underscore the word not, mean they are seeking to kill the equestrian season,” said their lawyer, John Shubin. “Anyone who is saying that this seeks to shut down the Global Dressage Festival is just dead wrong.”
That’s indeed what Bellissimo supporters have said. “Become active in fighting this on-going assault,” the Equestrian Forum wrote Friday on its blog, equestrianforum.blogspot.com.
“This is one more example of the Chicken-Little, sky-is-falling public relations campaign that is being put out there by supporters of the project,” Shubin said. “It’s not borne out by the reality of facts.”
Rather, the Jacobses filed the request to bring their lawsuits up to date based on council actions since they were first filed.
“We are just conforming our allegations to new events,” Shubin said. “If we didn’t challenge them, I’m sure someone down the road would say we waived our rights.”
The amendment seeks to void a stipulation agreement the council approved in August to ensure that the festival go on for the 2013 equestrian season. The suit claims the village violated its own rules and gave permits for the Equestrian Village without public process.
Bellissimo in a prepared statement said the court filing was meant to “create continued uncertainty” around the equestrian industry in Wellington.
For a full copy of the Billionaire lawsuit click below:
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