The Surf Club on the Sound has been sued for allegedly refusing to refund $56,657 for a b”™nai mitzvah that was canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jared and Allison Starr of White Plains sued the New Rochelle events venue Feb. 3 in Westchester Supreme Court to get their money back.
“This is slander!!!,” the Surf Club responded in response to an email asking for its side of the story. The inquiry was referred to Yonkers attorney Louis M. Spizzirro, who said he does not comment on lawsuits, “other than to say people will be treated fairly.”
The Starrs began searching in 2018 for a suitable location for their children”™s b”™nai mitzvah, the Jewish coming of age ceremony that formally admits children around age 13 to their religious community as adults.
The Starrs looked for a place that could accommodate 500 guests, and they chose the Surf Club, a popular banquet hall and events center on Davenport Avenue, on the Long Island Sound.
In January 2019, they reserved the Surf Club for Oct. 31, 2020. They agreed to pay $72,500 plus other fees and made several payments in the months leading up to the celebration.
The contract”™s “impossibility” clause allowed the deal to be terminated without liability for circumstances beyond the control of either party that would make it illegal or impossible to use the club.
More than a year after the deal was struck, as fears about the coronavirus spread, Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a statewide disaster emergency.
Restrictions on interstate travel and public gatherings potentially made attendance difficult for out-of-state guests and risky for all guests.
“Holding the event specified in the contract was and is not only illegal but impractical,” the complaint states, “if not impossible, in light of the deadly effects of large indoor gatherings.”
The Starrs say they canceled the event last July and demanded their money back, but the Surf Club felt it was too early to decide if the celebration could be held.
The Surf Club did not communicate with the Starrs as the day neared, according to the complaint, and Oct. 31 “came and went without the event occurring as planned.”
In December the couple filed for arbitration, as required by the contract, to get back their money.
The American Arbitration Association declined to take the case because the Surf Club failed to pay its fees. Either party could seek to resolve the dispute in a court, the arbitration association said in a letter, and the Surf Club would have to remove the association’s name from its contract arbitration clause “for failure to adhere to our policies.”
The Starrs accuse the Surf Club of unjust enrichment, breach of contract and breach of implied duty. They are represented by Manhattan attorney Jordan I. Rothman.
