People who paid for memberships at California golf clubs owned by a Texas-based company, including Mission Hills Country Club and Indian Wells Country Club are owed millions of dollars under a settlement agreement announced on December 11 by state officials.
According to a 2019 complaint from the California Attorney General’s Office, ClubCorp Holdings Inc. failed to repay more than $43 million in membership deposits owed to its more than 30,000 California members. Separately, the State Controller’s Office also sued ClubCorp in 2019.
Monday’s settlement resolves both lawsuits and, among other things, requires the company to seek and repay members’ entire deposits plus 10% interest per year. The company must also pay $31.25 million in damages and penalties to the state comptroller and attorney general’s office.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and California State Controller Malia Cohen announced the settlement with ClubCorp Holdings Inc., an owner and operator of more than 200 private golf and country clubs across the country.
According to Bonta, for decades, the company illegally pocketed money that should have been returned to its members. ClubCorp’s own contracts confirmed this. I am proud of my team’s work to ensure this level of justice for the thousands of Californians who have suffered injustice, and I am grateful to Controller Cohen for her partnership in this matter.”
According to the terms of the ClubCorp members’ contract, the money paid as a down payment had to be paid back after 30 years. Instead, ClubCorp only returned the money when asked. If ClubCorp didn’t receive a refund request, it would continue to use the money for its own purposes, the attorney general’s office said. A copy of the settlement agreement and signed stipulated judgment can be found here and here.
Given that the deposits were supposed to be returned three decades later, more than 30,000 members did not think to ask for their refund. Additionally, because the club targeted middle-aged members, many of the members to whom the club owed dues were senior citizens, the AG continued.
A response from ClubCorp, now doing business as Invited, was not immediately available. According to its website, the company currently owns clubs throughout the Golden State, including in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma counties.
In 2022, ClubCorp, the largest owner and operator of private golf and country clubs in the country, rebranded as Invited. At the time, The Dallas Morning News reported that the rebranding came as the company’s owner, Apollo Global Management, was reportedly eyeing a deal to take the company public.
According to Global Golf Post in May 2023, uncertain market conditions have created a pause in many IPO plans, ClubCorp’s among them.
