Sale of Newport Country Club Lands in Court

A group of “founding members” of the Newport Beach Country Club have gone to court to try to force the current owner to sell them the exclusive golf facility for $23.5 million.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, the members claim they were given the first opportunity to acquire the club after being outbid in 1985 by the current owner.

The club, which charges a $42,000 initiation fee and $445 a month in dues, opened in 1954. A half mile from Newport Harbor, the 18-hole, par-71 course hosts an annual pro event for senior golfers sponsored by Toshiba.

The club is owned by International Bay Clubs Inc., which also owns the Balboa Bay Club and a racquet club nearby.

The suit says International Bay owner Beverly Ray valued the country club at $23.5 million when she tried to sell the entire company in 1999. The suit contends she should have offered the founding members a chance to buy it at that price.

About 390 individuals classified as “Class A Founding Members” of the country club put up $3,500 to $4,500 each in 1985 for the right of first refusal, said attorney David C. Grant of Irvine, who filed the lawsuit.

The proposed sale of the entire company for $73.5 million triggered several other suits that are pending in Orange County Superior Court.

Real estate investor William J. Popejoy of Newport Beach, former head of the state lottery, sued Ray last year, contending she reneged on the deal to sell him International Bay. In a counterclaim, Ray asserted that Popejoy negated the deal by failing to come up with the $73.5 million.