Why is it that legal disputes sometimes drag on for years and years without resolution, with the only people profiting being those giving the legal advice?
While I have nothing against the lawyers involved (I do not even know them) it seems to me that the dispute between the Meadowbrook Golf Club and Logan City Council should have been settled years ago.
For those who do not know the story… the dispute dates back to 2011, when Council began laying sewer pipes through Meadowbrook, forcing the closure of several parts of the course.
Those works were not completed until 2016, resulting in a multi-million dollar lawsuit brought by the golf club against council, in which they claim the club was deliberately subjected to a decade of financial turmoil.
Australian Golf Management Corporation, which has a 90 year lease to operate Meadowbrook golf course, is suing Logan City Council in the Supreme Court of Queensland for $24 million in damages and loss of reputation incurred since 2013.
So far, all attempts to settle this dispute out of court have been unsuccessful.
I always enjoy the chance to play golf at Meadowbrook and have done so for the best part of 30 years, and in the interests of transparency, I want it known that the club recently gave me a membership.
But that is not why I have raised this saga. My only interest is seeing this long-running dispute finally settled, potentially saving rate payers hundreds of thousands of dollars or more in ongoing legal fees.
This matter is still before the courts, and I repeat I am not trying to influence the outcome, but hopefully it will be resolved soon, allowing the golf club and the council to move on and the focus at Meadowbrook to return to the business of birdies and bogies.
