a. Did Harris compete with the golf course?
b. To what damages would the club be entitled?
c. Is that what the club wants?
Nancy Harris was the president of the Northeast Harbor Golf Club in Maine for nearly 20 years. The club's only major asset was a golf course in Mount Desert. Harris was definitely a generous president. She not only mowed the grass and did the gardening; she also used her own money to purchase equipment for the club. Twenty years ago, a real estate broker informed Harris that three parcels of land next to the golf course were for sale. The agent contacted Harris because she was the president of the club and he believed that the club would be interested in buying the property to prevent development. Harris immediately agreed to purchase the property in her name. Afterwards, she informed the club's board that she had made the purchase and that she did not intend to develop the land. Harris purchased yet another parcel of land contiguous to the golf course. Again, she informed the board of directors after the purchase.
The club continually experienced financial difficulties, operated annually at a deficit, and depended on contributions from the directors to pay its bills. There was evidence, however, that the club had occasionally engaged in successful fund-raising and had $90,000 in a capital investment fund.
Five years after her last purchase, Harris began the process of obtaining approval for a five lot housing development. The club sued her for violating the corporate opportunity doctrine. The trial court found that Harris had not usurped a corporate opportunity because the acquisition of real estate was not in the club's line of business, and the corporation lacked the financial ability to purchase the real estate. The club appealed.