Supermodel and hubby got booted from this fancy Miami Beach country club. They're suing

Yahoo

04-03-2025

Karolina Kurkova and her husband, Archie Drury, are dealing with some icky first world problems.
The onetime Victoria's Secret Angel and her real estate broker hubby have filed a lawsuit against Miami Beach's ultra exclusive Fisher Island Club after getting booted out in January.
Only accessible by boat, ferry or helicopter, Fisher Island is one of the most expensive zip codes in the United States (that's 33109). The island's country club, basically the epicenter of all social activities, is the 'It' place for property owners, with such amenities as a private beach, tennis center, nine hole golf course, aviary, restaurants and a wellness spa.
The Czech model and former actor bought their four-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom home on the 216-acre island in 2018 for $1.3 million. Their luxurious, 3,025 square foot pad is currently on the market for $6.9 million. They also own five other residential units there, according to the couple's attorney, Jennifer Altman.
The parents of three started having issues with the country club — which costs $250,000 just to join, and has annual dues of roughly $40,000 — over a year ago, according to the suit filed last month in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court.
In November 2023, Drury was initially suspended for six months after he drove away from a garage in a Range Rover that wasn't his. The businessman claims he 'inadvertently' got into the car that Page Six reports belonged to Caroline Wozniacki. The tennis pro, a fellow neighbor and club member, declined to press charges and reportedly acknowledged that it was a mistake.
Despite being barred from the tony establishment, Drury didn't stay away. On Christmas Eve, he got hit with another six-month suspension about a month later for trespassing, after picking up a meal for his toddler from the club's eatery La Trattoria.
'Beyond an egregious overreach of the Club Board and Club Officer's authority, it certainly did not constitute a flagrant violation, nor did the food retrieval 'endanger the welfare, safety, harmony or good reputation of the Club,' legal documents say. 'Nor is retrieving food for his daughter — a person entitled to use all the amenities at the Club — a violation of the suspension.'
The high-profile pair claim in the voluminous complaint that their ouster was 'retaliatory,' because Drury, formerly with Douglas Elliman, started his own company in December 2022. The complaint claims there were 'conflicts of interest' surrounding potential real estate deals on the luxury island with the Club's board members who work at Douglas Elliman.
Kurkova and Drury, who have moved off the island and now live in Coral Gables, are requesting a jury trial, and are seeking unspecified damages.
'Karolina Kurkova and Archie Drury have been targeted by a 'deliberate' and orchestrated campaign to damage their reputations and business interests,' the model's rep Melanie A. Bonvicino told Page Six, 'both on and off Fisher Island.'
In a lengthy statement to the Miami Herald, the club shoots down the 'disgruntled' former members' allegations as 'baseless.'
'The Fisher Island Club looks forward to defending each of its challenged actions in detail in court filings as appropriate,' the emailed statement says. 'The record will show that plaintiffs received multiple notices and opportunities to be heard by the appropriate Club committee and the Board and subsequently expelled the plaintiffs from the Club based on their alleged 'attempt to defraud the Club and circumvent its rules (and deprive the Club of fees).''
And the accusations that certain board members used their influence for personal or corporate gain are 'patently false, unjustified and nothing short of scandalmongering.'
After careful review and all 'internal processes followed,' the couple was expelled, a decision 'rooted in the Club's commitment to maintaining the highest standards for those who belong to this private institution.'
The couple's lawyer, Altman, also released a statement.
'This lawsuit is about truth, transparency, and the rights of every Fisher Island Club member. For too long, as alleged in the Complaint, the Board has abused its power, violating Florida law and its own governing documents while gaslighting members who invest millions in memberships and annual dues. Fear of retaliation — through suspension or expulsion — has silenced many,' she wrote the Miami Herald in an email Monday. 'The Complaint details gross conflicts of interest, with directors using their positions to benefit themselves and Douglas Elliman. While the Club may try to downplay or dismiss these claims, the documents confirm otherwise. Plaintiffs look forward to accountability in court.'
We reached out to Elliman for comment regarding the lawsuit, but did not immediately hear back.