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Florida Court of Appeals Rules in Favor of Fiddlesticks Country Club in Bylaws Case

Court rules in favor of private club bylaws amendments; National Club Association filed brief and presented arguments on behalf of club.

The Florida Sixth District Court of Appeals ruled on Friday in favor of Fiddlesticks Country Club, Ft. Myers, Fla., in a case focusing on whether the club could amend its bylaws and have those new bylaws apply to existing members.  The case had far-reaching implications for clubs in Florida and beyond, reaffirming that bylaws may be amended if they follow requirements of existing bylaws and state law.

The National Club Association (NCA) had filed an amicus brief in the case on behalf of all Florida clubs, and recently presented arguments before the court on Fiddlesticks’ behalf.

The club was sued in 2019 by a group of members (plaintiffs) after membership voted to approve a $9,000 assessment; the group argued a 2018 assessment should be refundable to members who had agreed to bylaws as written when they joined the club. That court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs with a ruling that meant club bylaws could never be amended. 

Friday’s ruling in favor of Fiddlesticks said, “. . .when a contract contemplates amendment at the outset, subsequent amendments are in accordance with, and not in violation of, the contract even though they alter it.” The Court noted it might have reached a different conclusion if bylaw amendments were retroactive. 

”We are very pleased the Court recognized the error in the lower court’s ruling,” said NCA President & CEO Joe Trauger. “It reverses a ruling that would have been harmful to clubs and their futures. The ability to amend bylaws is critical, and the court recognized that.”

About NCA

The National Club Association (NCA) has been the advocate for the private club industry in Washington, D.C., for more than 60 years. As the voice of private clubs on Capitol Hill, NCA ensures that club concerns are forefront when legislative and regulatory issues affecting the industry are being decided. In addition, NCA provides club leaders an outstanding array of resources on club industry trends, governance best practices, legal and operational matters and ways to strengthen club leadership. nationalclub.org.

For more information, contact Kim Fernandez, CAE, vice president of communications: [email protected].

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