Latest news with #FisherIslandClub
New York Post
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Inside the nasty private club fight tearing one of America's richest ZIP codes apart — even a supermodel has been kicked out
Trouble is brewing on a Miami island enclave of multi-millionaires, with an all-out legal brawl between one high-profile resident, his supermodel wife and their private club. Fisher Island – once home to Oprah Winfrey and favored by tennis greats including Boris Becker and Caroline Wozniacki – is one of America's most exclusive ZIP codes and can only be accessed by helicopter or boat, but the drama on-island matches the size of resident's bank accounts. The 216-acre enclave, located just south of Miami Beach, boasts its own private school, medical clinic, and gourmet market. Apartments go for $4 million, while houses range from $6 million all the way up to $85 million for a top penthouse. Advertisement 10 Victoria's Secret model Karolina Kurkova and property broker husband Archie Drury have been expelled from the Fisher Island Club, igniting a nasty legal battle. Getty Images 10 The exclusive island is just south of Miami beach and comes with a hefty price tag — condos start at $4m. Getty Images Access to this elite world hinges on membership in the Fisher Island Club, a non-profit which sources say owns nearly every amenity: golf, tennis courts, restaurants, a spa and gym, and a beach club. Advertisement Equity membership costs $350,000 plus $38,000 in annual dues and without membership, residents effectively can't even shop for groceries. Sources tell The Post the club also keeps a tight rein on its members. Various WhatsApp group chats discuss the club, but we hear since December, the club has suspended or expelled members after accusing some of creating 'disharmony' with their comments. Advertisement A member of several years told The Post, 'It's different from revoking your club membership at La Gorce [another exclusive club on Miami Beach] or something. 'You can golf somewhere else. Here, you literally have to pack up your home and leave.' In response, the club told The Post: 'Discussion and debate is not uncommon among Club members and is encouraged, not discouraged. Not a single member has been expelled for speaking out against the Board.' However, one email in December accused members of 'sowing discord'. Advertisement 10 Kurkova and her husband own multiple properties on the island and were members of the club until 2023. In their lawsuit they claim the club retaliated againsst them because Archie started his own property company. Getty Images 10 Fisher Island, with the southern tip of Miami Beach in the background. The only ways onto the island are via boat or helicopter. Getty Images 'We strongly urge Members to cease any attempts to undermine and disrupt the Club's capital projects,' the board wrote, 'and also to end aggressive attacks on Club leadership — or risk a 30-day Membership suspension.' Some called the message 'threatening' and 'frightening' in the 'Let's Renovate Fisher' WhatsApp group. Another member, who asked not to be IDed, added: 'If you lose your membership here, you're cut off from your entire social life, your entire town.' In March the board sent another email warning: 'While free speech is a right, the use of free speech as a tool to incite disharmony is not.' 'If you ask too many questions, you're going to be suspended,' the longtime member alleged. Advertisement 10 Tennis legend Boris Becker has a vacation apartment on the island, and is one of its celebrity residents. EPA 10 Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki and her former NBA player husband David Lee put their $43 million home on the island up for sale in 2024. Getty Images The club denies this, saying: 'The Club has neither silenced nor retaliated against any Club member for voicing an opinion.' The warnings come in the wake of an increasingly nasty legal suit filed by Victoria's Secret supermodel Karolina Kurkova, 41, and her husband, Archie Drury, 54 – which has been the talk of the island ever since. Advertisement In January, the club's board voted to expel the couple, alleging they tried to defraud them by trying to transfer one of their memberships to a tenant. They filed suit a month later alleging unlawful expulsion and retaliation against Drury – once one of the island's top real estate agents at Douglas Elliman – for starting his own real estate firm. Their lawsuit accuses the club of 'threats and coercion,' claiming one of the couple's employees was allegedly asked to provide false testimony against them, or risk losing their apartment and privileges on the island. The lawsuit states the couple had lived for more than a decade as members of the club on Fisher Island, where they have bought multiple properties, until 2023 when Drury formed his real estate company. Advertisement The lawsuit states: 'The Defendants' conduct has and continues to cause [Kurkov and Drury] substantial harm both personally and professionally, including by preventing Plaintiff Drury from engaging in his trade as a real estate broker on Fisher Island.' 10 Fisher Island Country Club maintains they kicked Kurkova and Drury out for good reason, and they had been warned of their conduct for years. 10 A penthouse in one Fisher Island's condos would set you back a cool $85 million. However, since the lawsuit has been filed, the club has defended its position and filed to strike and dismiss what it calls a 'sham pleading'. Advertisement In their motion to strike the suit, the Fisher Island Club maintain the couple were properly expelled 'after years of misconduct' and had ignored multiple warnings about their behavior. One of the more bizarre incidents cited in court papers is that Drury allegedly stole another member's white Range Rover in Nov. 2023 – while he claims he simply mistook it for another car he was allowed to drive. The club disputes that, and claims he changed his story about what happened. The incident caused the club to suspend Drury, which was extended after he allegedly violated the terms of suspension. The rebuttal papers further accuse Drury of 'inappropriate conduct towards Club members (such as physically threatening another member and giving him the middle finger) [and] 'screaming' at a Club employee.' Regarding Drury's suspension, the club claims in its court papers: 'Drury did not object to his suspension after it was imposed, nor did he timely institute an action challenging it.' The couple maintain in their filing they bought a second membership to the club and should be allowed under its rules to designate that membership to a tenant. The papers also claim that as a result of Drury's 'disruptive behavior' the Club even hired armed security and issued him a cease-and-desist letter for trespassing, after he had been expelled in January. 10 Kurkova and Drury. He told The Post their lawsuit is about more than his family's expulsion, saying: ''I want to make people feel safe to speak up.' Getty Images for EJAF 10 Kurkova, who was born in the Czech Republic, has two children with Drury. They say they have since relocated from the island. Getty Images The scathing rebuttal to the lawsuit accuses Drury and Kurkova of 'Piling one defective claim on top of another … a transparent attempt to seek to strong-arm the Club into reinstating Plaintiffs' appropriately cancelled memberships … and garner public support of Plaintiffs' false narrative against the Club, and in effect steal from the Club's members by seeking damages from the Club.' A judge has yet to rule on what will happen with the suit, which currently remains active. In an interview with the Post, Drury said the conflict has hurt his family's livelihood and forced them to uproot their kids and move. But for him, the lawsuit is bigger than his family. 'I want to make people feel safe to speak up,' he said. Kurkova's spokesperson, Melanie Bonvicino, called Fisher Island a community under siege in a statement to The Post. The Fisher Island Club also isn't the only private club accused of cracking down on dissent. In June, a couple sued a club in the Keys, saying it expelled them after they challenged its leadership. Such clubs' 'rampant abuses of power' have led to 'autocratic control over residents' daily lives,' Jennifer Altman, Kurkova and Drury's lawyer, claimed. In its response to The Post, the Fisher Island Club expressed confidence in its pending court motion and said it believes Drury and Kurkova's suit 'remains deficient and is also subject to dismissal.' Meanwhile, the island's millionaires looking on are chugging their way through plenty of popcorn as they await the result.
Axios
25-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Inside a fired fitness trainer's legal fight against Fisher Island
A fitness trainer at Fisher Island who was fired last year is suing the luxe residential club, accusing it of racial discrimination. The big picture: The island community — accessible only by boat or helicopter — is one of the wealthiest ZIP codes in America and a source of palace intrigue, legal fights and celebrity gossip. Driving the news: Shebah Carfagna, who says she was the only Black woman working as a trainer on Fisher Island, alleges in a lawsuit filed last year that the club "terminated her because she is a black woman who objected to her mistreatment." District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II in January dismissed two counts from the suit and sent another to arbitration. A fourth count — alleging the club's actions "demonstrate an intent to discriminate against Carfagna on the basis of her race" — remains pending. Carfagna, who worked on Fisher Island for 14 years through her Panache Fitness brand, alleges that the club: Directed clients away from her and her life partner, a Black man who also works on Fisher Island as a trainer. Prevented her from teaching certain classes she was certified to teach. Withheld payments owed to her and harassed and intimidated her. The other side: Fisher Island Club issued a statement to Axios denying the allegations and saying it ended its business relationship with Panache Fitness "for legitimate business reasons." "The Club is disappointed that last year Ms. Carfagna filed a lawsuit alleging that this decision was unlawful," the club said. "However, the Club is committed to continue to address such allegations through the appropriate legal channels as the allegations are unfounded and without merit." The club ended its contract with Panache Fitness in April 2024, alleging that Carfagna offered virtual fitness classes without club approval and that trainers and guests had complained about her, according to Carfagna's lawsuit. In her lawsuit, filed last June but not previously reported, Carfagna argues her firing was retaliation for raising concerns about a "hostile" work environment. The club's reasons for firing her were "entirely contrived," her lawsuit says. Zoom in: The club allowed white trainers to hold virtual classes, the lawsuit says. The wife of a Fisher Island board member attended Carfagna's virtual classes and emailed the club to ask that Carfagna be hired back, the suit says. (In a legal filing, Fisher Island attorneys did not dispute this.) Carfagna said the club's complaints were inconsistent with her "impeccable" reputation and said many other club members sent emails to management opposing her firing. What they're saying: Carfagna's attorney, Jonathan Minsker, tells Axios that Fisher Island Club's actions are "both shameful and illegal." "Ms. Carfagna did not want this fight, and she did not ask for it, but she will not be bullied," he said in a statement. "She intends to fully vindicate her rights and hopefully prevent the Club's management from doing this to others." What's next: Fisher Island this month filed a motion asking the judge to rule in its favor on the lawsuit's sole remaining count, which would end the suit.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Supermodel and hubby got booted from this fancy Miami Beach country club. They're suing
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.
South China Morning Post
03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Meet Victoria's Secret model Karolína Kurková's husband Archie Drury: the couple is suing Miami's exclusive members-only Fisher Island Club for wrongful expulsion
Victoria's Secret model Karolína Kurková and her husband Archie Drury are suing the Fisher Island Club – an exclusive members-only establishment based in Miami, Florida – alleging that they have been wrongfully expelled. Private Fisher Island, which is only accessible by helicopter or boat, has been home to the likes of Oprah Winfrey , Mel Brooks, Julia Roberts and Andre Agassi. A complaint filed by the couple on February 20 alleges that the club's board of directors sought to deprive them of their property interest and hinder Drury's business as a real estate broker, per Newsweek. Advertisement Archie Drury and Karolína Kurková are suing the elite Fisher Island Club in Miami. Photo: @karolinakurkova/Instagram British media reported that Drury was first suspended from the club in December 2023 after repeated counts of misconduct including 'accidentally' stealing another club member's vehicle, screaming at and acting inappropriately towards marina employees, as well as giving the middle finger to another member of the club. The final straw came in November 2024 when the club accused the Czech model and her husband, who own six properties on the island, of trying to 'defraud' the club by designating membership to a tenant. However, according to the couple's lawsuit, the club allows residents who own two or more units on the island to do so. The couple was expelled in January. Their membership costs US$250,000 each, plus an annual fee of about US$40,000. Here's everything to know about the model's troublemaking husband Archie Drury. Archie Drury is an entrepreneur and an ex-Marine Archie Drury, Karolína Kurková and their son Tobin in June 2024. Photo: @karolinakurkova/Instagram According to SFGate, Drury is a former marine who served in the first Persian Gulf War.
