Letter from England

Letter to the Wellington Council

November 30th 2012

Dear Sirs

I have been coming to Wellington every year since 1982. I work for equestrian magazines in 20 different countries and illustrate most of the coffee books that you see on the book shelves.

When I first came, the jumping was in the polo stadium, a small affair.  Wellington has moved forward dramatically now, being one of the top two or three places in the world for equestrian sports.  The income for tourism and all local traders when Wellington is descended upon from riders all over the world must be massive and for people to take out law suits to try and stop the international events going ahead in my opinion is small minded and disgusting.  Would this happen if this was american football or basketball?  This is sport we are talking about, which needs all the help it can get.

If there is anything I can do to help please let me know.

Kind regards

Bob Langrish MBE

Equestrian Photographer

The Court House

High Street

Bisley

Gloucestershire GL6 7AA

England

bob@boblangrish.co.uk

www.boblangrish.com

Billionaire Lawsuit Exposed

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:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/m84xahz8dgpxon8/Amend_Billionaire_Lawsuit.pdf

ESP Denounces Jacobs Legal Action Against Wellington

DESPITE COURT REJECTION OF APPEALS, JACOBS FAMILY RENEW ATTACKS ON WELLINGTON EQUESTRIAN DOMAIN THREATENING BOTH DRESSAGE AND SHOW JUMPING EVENTS AT THE NEW STADIUM VENUE ESP Press Release Wellington, FL - November 28, 2012 - Despite two recent appellate court rulings where three judge panels summarily rejected Charles and Kimberly Jacobs' appeals, which challenged the compatibility and development approvals for the Equestrian Village and new Stadium, the Jacobs family is further appealing the approvals. They also amended another lawsuit against the Village, the horse show, and the property owners of the new Stadium. The amendment seeks injunctive relief to void the Stipulation Agreement recently voted on by the Village Council 4-0 that ensured that the Global Dressage Festival and all the grass show jumping events for the upcoming 2013 equestrian season would occur. The Jacobs' amended lawsuit seeks "the Court [to] order the lands returned to their status prior to the commencement of the development activities." It also asks the court to declare that "the Stipulation be void as a matter of law, and of no legal force and effect." Charles and Kimberly Jacobs latest attack jeopardizes the following: the Global Dressage Festival; many show jumping/hunter classes scheduled on the grass/derby field during the 2013 Winter Equestrian Festival; the Palm Beach Riding Academy which serves local community children; and local charities who are planning to use the covered arena for 28 days free of charge during the 2013 season. The Jacobs efforts will ultimately impact every Wellington taxpayer due to an ever increasing Village legal bill that continues to balloon. Finally, it could have a significant negative impact on the local economy and jobs. Despite repeated claims that they support Dressage, including a letter to the Town Crier where Lou Jacobs stated, "With regard to dressage events for the upcoming season, please know that I want to see dressage go forward and be successful. In fact, I have reviewed your current request, and I am prepared to fully support it before the Village Council," the Jacobs' work behind the scenes seeks to destroy the venue and the development of Dressage in the community. Mark Bellissimo, Managing Partner of Wellington Equestrian Partners commented, "While I am disappointed, I am surely not surprised by their actions. Given their PR campaign touting their preservation activity, this clearly speaks volumes about their true interests and agenda. In this light, Lou Jacobs' recent letter to the community in the Wellington Town Crier is at best disingenuous. We are confident the Jacobs' new challenges to the Stadium will fail as their two similar lawsuits did." The new amendment is, however, a dark cloud over our Wellington community and was no doubt filed to create continued uncertainty. Simply stated, it's another attack by the Jacobs to prevent a successful, thriving equestrian industry that is attractive and available to all Wellington residents and visitors - all to protect the entrance to their 200 acre compound on Pierson Road.

Wellington Faces Major Legal Challenges Without Attorney On Board

 By Mitra Malek - Palm Beach Post - Sun Nov. 25, 2012

Lawsuits have piled up against Wellington since early this year, and the person qualified to handle them won’t be doing that soon.

The village council fired its attorney for the past decade, Jeff Kurtz, an ax that appeared ready to fall for months.

An interim attorney will take over in two weeks — but the council has no plan beyond that.

“I would like to say that this is borderline reckless,” Vice Mayor Howard Coates said. “But I can’t say it because I happen to believe that it’s just outright reckless.”

The council on Sept. 11 had voted to hire a consultant to look at whether it makes more sense to continue contracting legal services or bring an attorney in-house.

That study hasn’t been completed though, nor had it even started when the council on Nov. 13 voted to execute a 30-day termination clause in the contract Kurtz’s law firm has with Wellington.

That didn’t matter to Councilman Matt Willhite, who for months has been pushing for the village to get an in-house attorney.

“This doesn’t come up as a surprise to Mr. Kurtz; I’ve spoken to him privately in his office,” Willhite said before the recent vote. “I think we’re to the point where things just aren’t meshing and molding together. There have been some requirements made that have been requested and they haven’t been obligated.”

Willhite, Mayor Bob Margolis and Councilman John Greene voted to end a contract with the Law Offices of Glen J. Torcivia & Associates, where Kurtz is a partner. Torcivia has agreed to take over as interim attorney.

Margolis, who also served on the council earlier in Kurtz’s tenure said the “issues” he’s had pertain to “public records requests and timely updates, and there are a number of them.”

Coates, a lawyer himself, said other council members hadn’t shared clear reasons to fire Kurtz — especially without solid plans on where to go from there.

“Just the fact that one council member or two council members may be unhappy with him is just not enough for me,” Coates said. “It will put us in an incredibly vulnerable position on these pending litigation matters. And Kurtz has advised us well on them.”

The village spent about $460,000 last fiscal year on legal services, and another $670,000 on major litigation.

It will take months for a new attorney up to speed on Wellington’s history and legal issues. A University of Notre Dame graduate who earned his law degree at Widener University, Kurtz has been the attorney for Wellington and its Acme Improvement District since 2003.

“There is no clean break,” Village Manager Paul Schofield said. “It’s not: Today we have one attorney, tomorrow we have another.”

Kurtz didn’t return a call for comment. Before the recent vote he told the council he would share his knowledge to ensure nothing is misplaced.

“It seemed to be they just didn’t want Jeff Kurtz,” Councilwoman Anne Gerwig said. “You’re going to have to transfer knowledge to whomever we pick next. To me it was just adding another layer of money for taxpayers.”

The Thanksgiving Eve Assault on Wellington Equestrians

It became known on Wednesday, November 21st 2012 that the Jacobs family has taken yet more legal action against our Village to try and kill this year’s (2013) Global Dressage Festival. This is of concern to all residents and businesses of Wellington.  

 And it appears settlement discussions to resolve the litigation between the Village and Wellington Equestrian Partners have come to a dead end. The Forum had hoped the Village would allow use of the new Horse Park at Equestrian Village year-round.  

The Jacobs assault against this year’s GDF is in the form of a motion to amend their existing lawsuit ⁽¹⁾ that seeks the tearing down of the entire Equestrian Village Horse Park: The Van Kampen Arena, barns, dressage arena and the derby field.  The amendment asks the court to void the temporary settlement agreement reached by WEP and the Village last August that allows the facility to be used for the 2013 GDF.

 Furthermore beginning May 1, 2013 the facility will once again become legally unusable. In addition to local, year-round equestrians being denied use of the facility, it will also deny charitable organizations from holding their events at the facility.

The Equestrian Forum has asked the Mayor and Village Manager if the settlement discussions would be on this Tuesday’s Village council agenda and if the public would be allowed to speak when the council is considering the issue ( unlike at the last meeting). We have not received a response.

We ask that you and other members of the Forum become active in fighting this on-going assault. Without your involvement it will continue. Without the equestrian community speaking out, the Village council majority will become comfortable in implementing the Jacobs agenda.       

We ask that you email us (equestrian.forum@live.com) and:

•  State whether or not you support our efforts to make the Horse Park a year-round venue and equestrian sport a year-round industry.
• If in the coming weeks you would be willing to participate in a rally in support of the Forum and to support year-round use of the Horse Park. We want to plan a fun, family-friendly rally that has the very serious purpose of expressing our support for a vibrant, year round equestrian industry and that we want the Horse Park available now and the litigation (using our money) TO STOP! NOW!
• Please include in your email if you are a full or seasonal resident of Wellington

And finally, we have been hopeful that a settlement agreement would be reached. We thought at least one of the council majority ( Bob Margolis, Matt Willhite and John Greene ) would realize the economic and financial damage their previous actions could have and would reverse course. Our hope has proved to be naive. We realize that it will take an aggressive approach to stop this council and the Jacobs from destroying the benefits of our equestrian industry.      

⁽¹⁾  Charlie & Kimberly Jacobs and Solar SportSystems (Deeridge Farm) v Village of Wellington.

Wellington Council Meeting Outcome November 13th 2012

It is now a time for great concern by all Wellington residents and taxpayers. Last night's Village Council meeting was a display of ineptitude, political maneuvering and bizarre ideas. 

Unfortunately the litigation continues and there is no resolution to the inability of the equestrian community and charities to use the Horse Park year round as it was originally approved. 

It needs to be pointed out that council members Anne Gerwig and Howard Coates are champions of the equestrian community. Unfortunately they form a minority against the three-member voting block of Mayor Bob Margolis and council members Matt Willhite and John Greene. 

The members of the majority voting block continually insist that they really didn't mean any harm by shutting down the brand new $ 30 million Horse Park at Equestrian Village. 

They keep saying that they didn't really mean to deny use of the venue by charities this past summer and that they want to have a year-round equestrian industry.

They boldly claim they want to stop spending money on lawyers and litigation.

But then they take actions contrary to their professed desires. They talk in circles to give the impression they are well-intended.  

The many in attendance who were there to support ending the litigation and allow year-round use of Horse Park were not allowed to speak. 

There was also an army of lawyers and lobbyists there on behalf of the special interests that oppose the Horse Park. Their presence was intended to ensure the litigation continued. They won ! 

The council decided by the usual 3-2 vote to continue the litigation with an abstract promise of finding a solution. 

But the solution is simple. Revoke the revocation. If there is a bona fide problem with a barn as alleged, then resolve that. 

Instead the Council discussed their desire to redesign the Horse Park which led to the most bizarre recommendation of the night. Councilman Matt Willhite, whose interests in this matter don’t extend beyond those of the special interests that oppose progress, suggested a land-swap be considered to move the Horse Park to State Road 7. When the spontaneous outburst of laughter subsided, everyone was stunned that Willhite was in fact dead serious.

The many in attendance who were there to support ending the litigation and allow year-round use of Horse Park were not allowed to speak prior to a decision being made (Their comment cards were read at the end of the meeting).

To cap off the evening, Presented by Matt Willhite and seconded by John Greene, the Council majority of three fired long-time Village Attorney Jeff Kurtz effective in thirty days. There will be an interim attorney while a permanent attorney is sought. So there will be two transitions during a period of unprecedented litigation. Councilman Howard Coates, himself a lawyer, called the action “ Reckless “. The meeting attendants applauded Coates.

Nevertheless, the unseemly firing of Kurtz was approved by the usual 3-2 vote on such matters. ( The vote was to terminate the contract with Kurtz's firm, which in effect was a firing of Kurtz ). 

Equestrian Forum Joins the Wellington Chamber of Commerce

Working to promote and support the equestrian industry, the Equestrian Forum joined the Wellington Chamber of Commerce in early November. As new members, the Equestrian Forum of Wellington founding Board of Directors attended the annual Equestrian season Kick-off luncheon on Wednesday, November 14th 2012 at the Wanderers Club. Equestrian speakers included Noreen O'Sullivan, Mark Bellissimo and the President of the International Polo Club, John Walsh.