Golf Loving Massachusetts Couple Get a Second $5 Million Blessing in Disguise Despite Causing Damage Due to Bad Tee Shots

Golf is not all about fun and sports, but it surrounds some controversies too. April 2021 was not a pleasant month for the Indian Pond Country Club. A Massachusetts couple sued the country club for harm done to their home by errant golf shots and received a settlement of about $5 million. Erik and Athina Tenczar, the victim couple, purchased the home in 2017. However, according to them, more than 650 golf balls have struck their house. As a result, severe property damage, including breaking windows and siding, has been caused over the years.

However, things went south, for the couple when the lawsuit was overturned because of a simple error by the judge. Justice Scott Kafker overruled the decision passed in December 2021. He said Superior Court Judge William M. White Jr. made a “clear error.” It was a six-day trial between the couple and the Indian Pond Country Club Inc. However, in April, the country club appealed the ruling to the state courts. Kafker contends that White erred by failing to direct the jury to consider an easement given to the country club in 2001.

How can golf balls cause so much chaos?

On Tuesday, a new development occurred when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court overturned the ruling. A “clear error” from Superior Court Judge William M. White Jr. caused chaos, and the couple is again in jeopardy. Many questions surrounded the decision, and the most critical question was whether the country club’s 15th hole was decently run. The tee boxes of the same hole and the fairway were the launch pad for the golf balls to destroy the couple’s home. The precise error prevented the jury from answering this question.

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Judge Scott Kafker unanimously overruled the decision. He said, “With golf, some errant shots, way offline, are inevitable, but a predictable pattern of errant shots that arise from the unreasonable golf course operation is not.” According to him, justices cannot decide “as a matter of law.” They cannot determine whether the hole and the number of stray golf balls that flew into the couple’s yard, destroying their house, was a reasonable cause. He reversed the decision and ordered a new trial in Plymouth Superior Court.

In his statement, Kafker wrote, “With golf, some errant shots, way offline, are inevitable, but a predictable pattern of errant shots that arise from the unreasonable golf course operation is not.” He believes that only some off-course shots are seriously unavoidable while playing golf. However, if the course management was careless, and the shots resulted from the same, things need to be looked at again.

Will the Tenczars will receive the justice they want?

Robert Galvin is the attorney handling the case of the Tenczars. He revealed the couple’s feelings and said that the couple had faith in the jury. They anticipated that the new jury in their new trial would be more sympathetic and empathetic to their situation. Galvin recently spoke with Boston.com about the new trial and expressed his concern about his clients. He said, “This family doesn’t have any other choice (but) to continue this, and I think we’ve proven what a jury of reasonable people think of this particular situation.” 

The whole situation has been troubling for the couple. According to Erik, he suffered tremendous mental exhaustion from worrying about golf balls hitting his kids. He observed his wife crumbling to the hopeless [ness], and his children were in constant fear. On the other hand, his wife, Athina, also testified about her dire situation. Golf balls striking the house interrupted her work calls. It used to wake the children up from their naps. She described the golf ball as ‘scary’ and ‘chaotic.’ She couldn’t even use her outdoor space.

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What are your thoughts about the case? Who is at fault here? Should they pay the couple for damages?