Richie Homsi: Governors Island Club has two sets of rules

To The Daily Sun,

On March 31, The Laconia Daily Sun published a story about the judgment against me. It is more than concerning how Governor’s Island Club, Inc., Wescott Law, and a Belknap County Superior Court judge can act with such impunity.

There are some missing pieces to your story. Judge O’Neill issued an order in 2017 to allow my carport to remain until the “conditional approval” garage was built. I put that carport up in 2001. For over 17 years, it was not an issue until some members objected to the aesthetics. I would love to build a garage; I tried to do that in 2012 and the club made me remove the foundation due to their covenants and restrictions.

The day before Judge O’Neill retired, he issued a judgment against me for over $130,000 and gave me 60 days to pay it; an extraordinary financial burden. Additionally, if I did not remove the carport, he authorized the club to remove it with substantial fees attached. Attorney Paul Fitzgerald and the club did not want Judge O’Neill to retire without a final ruling in their favor. That is exactly what happened.

Since 2012, I have engaged twice in court ordered mediation at my expense. We reached a settlement both times, shook hands, and the next day, the board of GIC, Inc. rejected it. It is obviously not about coming to an agreement but more about how to push me out.

The club brazenly uses their covenants and restrictions as reasons for justifying their case against me, when in fact several homes have had garages and other structures built that do not meet these requirements, for example 112 and 546 Edgewater Drive, 107 and 124 Shore Road. Two classes of people – two different sets of rules.

Richie Homsi

Laconia