Soltys v. Wellesley Country Club

15 Mass. L. Rptr. 650
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedOctober 28, 2002
DocketNo. 0000050
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 15 Mass. L. Rptr. 650 (Soltys v. Wellesley Country Club) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Soltys v. Wellesley Country Club, 15 Mass. L. Rptr. 650 (Mass. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

Donovan, J.

The plaintiffs, Thomas and Mary Soltys (“the Soltys”) move for summary judgment on Count VIII — the discrimination claim against defendants, Wellesley Country Club (“WCC”). WCC seeks summary judgment also on Count VIII and on Counts: I — intentional misrepresentation, II — negligent misrepresentation, III — specific performance, IV — detrimental reliance, V — breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing and VI — G.L.c. 93A, §9. The individually named defendants move for summaryjudgment on Count IX — breach of a fiduciary duty which is the only count pending against them.2 For the following reasons the plaintiffs motion is denied and the defendants’ motions are allowed in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

After a hearing, review of the numerous submissions and memoranda, the following facts are undisputed in the summaryjudgment record. In discussing specific claims reference will be made to other undisputed facts pertinent to the allegation.

The Wellesley Country Club (“WCC”) is a non-profit, charitable organization. It was organized on July 6, 1910. A Board of Governors controls and manages the Club’s property and affairs pursuant to its By-Laws. The By-Laws grant to the Board the right to issue rules and regulations, regarding but not limited to membership, associated privileges, entrance fees, and dues. A membership application is not available to the public but must be obtained from a Certificate Owning Member. The applicant must be known to and proposed for membership by three Certificate Owning Members. The By-Laws limit the number of Certificate Owning Members to 550.

Thomas Soltys and his wife, Mary Ann Soltys submitted an application in March 1993 seeking golf membership. Full memberships were not available. However, in 19953 Thomas Soltys became a Certificate Owning Member of the Club.4 Mr. Soltys maintained his status until March 2000.

[651]*651WCC rules required a family to choose between spouses as to who will be the Certificate Owner because the rules did not permit both spouses to be named on the certificate. The Certificate Owner has the option annually of designating his/her spouse as the Certificate Owner. The Certifícate Owner holds certain privileges not available to the “spouse golfer.” The Soltys have been on the WCC golf wait list (GWL) throughout the duration of their membership.

In 1991 the WCC Women’s Golf Association ByLaws were adopted to promote interest in women’s golf and to organize and conduct tournaments. Membership was divided into two Ladies Groups, 18 and 9 hole, each having separate Boards, by-laws and committees which are answerable to the WCC golf committee and the Board of Governors. Each member pays annual dues and handicap fees to her respective Group. The Rules and Regulations adopted by the Ladies 18 Hole Group limit tournaments to their members only. An amendment to the Rules and Regulations requires a two-thirds vote of their Executive Board. The WCC has a separate set of By-Laws.

From 1995 through 1999, a number of golf tournaments and events were held at the Club. Some of these events were open to women golf members, others to men golf members, while others to golf members regardless of gender. Also, on occasion, tournaments were open only to Certificate Owning Members with golf memberships, regardless of gender. In addition, the Ladies 18 Hole and 9 Hole Groups5 held their own tournaments and events which, for the most part, were open only to members of the two groups. The tournaments are scheduled at the time requested by the sponsoring Ladies Group.

A GWL Committee was formed in 1999 to address and examine issues pertaining to the GWL. The Soltys attended the committee meetings. The Committee presented suggestions to the Board of Governors regarding additional privileges for GWL members. As a result of the suggestions GWL Members6 could participate in tournaments on a “space available” basis. However this rule did not apply to the Ladies 9 Hole or the 18 Hole Groups because each group, in determining the eligibility requirements for entry into their tournaments, opted to exclude those who were not members of the Ladies group.

On April 9, 1999, Frederick Haynes, the president of WCC, sent a letter to all Club members reporting the changes based on the Committee’s recommendations. The president offered full refunds of the initiation fee and bond to GWL members who joined the club from 1994-96 but now wished to resign. The GWL members were offered a new membership which allowed them to either remain on the wait list with the current limited privileges or become “Restricted Golf Members”7 with more liberal playing privileges. GWL members could continue to play in “certain tournaments on a space-available basis.” New advance tee times for GWL members were implemented granting them preference for Monday tee times. Mr. Haynes wrote that GWL members would receive full membership based on when they joined the wait list: in 1994, membership by 2000, in 1995, membership by 2002, and in 1996, membership by 2004 (all subject to review by the Board on an annual basis). After receiving this letter the Soltys chose to remain as GWL Members and not upgrade to the Restricted Golf Membership which cost more money.

Beginning June 1, 1999, the Ladies 18 Hole Group decided to allow women on the GWL who elected the “Restricted Golf Membership” and had the proper handicap (38 or lower)8 to play in seven of their “regular” Tuesday Tournaments, but the “Major” Tournaments continued to be exclusive. Mrs. Soltys did not qualify because she opted not to become a “Restricted Golf Member.”

In June 1999, Mrs. Soltys made several attempts to play in the Ladies 18 Hole Group Tournaments but was denied inclusion. There were a number of tournaments during 1999 which were opened to GWL members including Mrs. Soltys but she did not participate. She was eligible to play in the Ladies 9 Hole Group Tournaments because of a change in their rules but declined to participate.

On several occasions, Mr. and Mrs. Soltys voiced their concerns about Mrs. Soltys’s exclusion from such tournaments. On October 19, 1999, the Board of Governors informed the Soltys that a hearing would be scheduled regarding the Soltys’ continuation as members due to the “alleged aggressive and inflammatory statements made at various meetings.” A hearing was held on February 15, 2000 and the Soltys were expelled on March 15, 2000.

DISCUSSION

Summary judgment will be granted where there are no genuine issues of material fact and where the record, including the pleadings and affidavits entitles the moving party to judgment as a matter of law. Cassesso v. Commissioner of Correction, 390 Mass. 419, 422 (1983). The moving party beans the burden of affirmatively demonstrating that there are no triable issues. Pederson v. Time, Inc., 404 Mass. 14, 16-17 (1989).Thenonmoving party cannot defeat a summary judgment motion by resting on the pleadings or merely asserting disputed issues of fact. Lalonde v. Eissner, 405 Mass. 207, 209 (1989). However, for the purposes of a summary judgment, the court will review the facts and all reasonable inferences from those facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Ford Motor Co., Inc. v. Barrett, 403 Mass. 240, 242 (1988).

I. Count VIII — Discrimination A. G.L.c. 15 IB — Discrimination Claim

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Related

Murray v. Framingham Country Club
19 Mass. L. Rptr. 592 (Massachusetts Superior Court, 2005)

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Bluebook (online)
15 Mass. L. Rptr. 650, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/soltys-v-wellesley-country-club-masssuperct-2002.