Florida Golf Course Lot Scores $1.2 Million In Suit
Delia Eisenberg, 87, a retired beautician, owned a 7,500-square-foot lot on Fisher Island that her late husband bought for $3,500 in 1961, when the island was undeveloped. Hold onto it, he said. It will be valuable someday.
She heeded his advice, turning down offers to sell. Fisher Island became a fancy residential community for millionaires with a hotel, spa, tennis center, marina and championship golf course called The Links.
In the late 1990s, Delia discovered that part of The Links' fourth hole was on her property.
Eisenberg sued Fisher Island Club in Miami-Dade Circuit Court -- for trespass, civil theft and unjust enrichment. She demanded $1.5 million in damages.
Attorneys Jerry Katzen and Elizabeth Katzen say the club ignored her ownership rights. ''They used it for 13 years without offering to provide her with any compensation,'' says Jerry Katzen, who is Eisenberg's nephew. Real estate analyst Michael Y. Cannon, hired by Katzen, says Eisenberg's lot ended up underneath the fourth fairway and one of its sand traps.
The club argued for dismissal, saying Eisenberg ''sat by'' while ''valuable improvements'' were made on the lot. But Circuit Judge Robert Scola ruled the club ``has committed a trespass.''
The parties just settled -- for $1.2 million. The club got title to the lot.
Eisenberg's husband, jazz musician Norton ''Nortie'' Eisenberg, died in 1983 of lung cancer. Delia Eisenberg now lives with her sister in California.
Eisenberg's portion of the settlement is $700,000. She gave it to grandchildren Jeremy Bernstein, 29, an accountant, and Jill Bernstein, 25, who teaches autistic and developmentally delayed kindergartners at Blue Lakes Elementary. Grandma Delia wants them to use the money to buy their first homes. The balance of the settlement went to pay attorneys' fees, expert witnesses and court costs. Eisenberg's daughter, Carole Bernstein, owned four Get Smart Educational Superstores, from Miami to Palm Beach. She sold the company last year.
She heeded his advice, turning down offers to sell. Fisher Island became a fancy residential community for millionaires with a hotel, spa, tennis center, marina and championship golf course called The Links.
In the late 1990s, Delia discovered that part of The Links' fourth hole was on her property.
Eisenberg sued Fisher Island Club in Miami-Dade Circuit Court -- for trespass, civil theft and unjust enrichment. She demanded $1.5 million in damages.
Attorneys Jerry Katzen and Elizabeth Katzen say the club ignored her ownership rights. ''They used it for 13 years without offering to provide her with any compensation,'' says Jerry Katzen, who is Eisenberg's nephew. Real estate analyst Michael Y. Cannon, hired by Katzen, says Eisenberg's lot ended up underneath the fourth fairway and one of its sand traps.
The club argued for dismissal, saying Eisenberg ''sat by'' while ''valuable improvements'' were made on the lot. But Circuit Judge Robert Scola ruled the club ``has committed a trespass.''
The parties just settled -- for $1.2 million. The club got title to the lot.
Eisenberg's husband, jazz musician Norton ''Nortie'' Eisenberg, died in 1983 of lung cancer. Delia Eisenberg now lives with her sister in California.
Eisenberg's portion of the settlement is $700,000. She gave it to grandchildren Jeremy Bernstein, 29, an accountant, and Jill Bernstein, 25, who teaches autistic and developmentally delayed kindergartners at Blue Lakes Elementary. Grandma Delia wants them to use the money to buy their first homes. The balance of the settlement went to pay attorneys' fees, expert witnesses and court costs. Eisenberg's daughter, Carole Bernstein, owned four Get Smart Educational Superstores, from Miami to Palm Beach. She sold the company last year.
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