‘Sequoia’ case comes to a halt
Gary Silversmith has told US media he cannot afford to continue fighting for ownership of the 32m ex-Presidential yacht, 'Sequoia'.…
An owner embroiled in a legal battle with lenders over the ex Presidential American yacht, 32m Sequoia, is reported to have admitted defeat.
Washington lawyer, Gary Silversmith, told the Delaware News Journal this week that he didn’t have the “financial and emotional energy” to continue fighting the case. The next major hearing was due on August 27 at Chancery Court in Delaware.
The trial The Sequoia Presidential Yacht Group LLC and Gary Silversmith v. FE Partners LLC, the latter which lent Silversmith US$5 million for upkeep of the yacht, has seen damning allegations from both sides since hearings began early this year. Silversmith alleged FE sought to improperly 'wrest control' of the yacht from him, lending him only half the agreed loan and forcing him to default. He said this was the 'dastardly' plan of the financier, which provides capital to preserve assets with historical value to the USA, to buy back the yacht at a massively reduced rate.
FE on its part says Silversmith altered and destroyed evidence, giving it grounds to file a motion for a default judgment. Case documents also reveal Silversmith had fallen into debt over previous loans for the yacht, and that crew were owed $25,000 in overdue wages, as reported earlier on SuperyachtNews.com.
FE issued a statement to say it would not comment on the litigation, but is committed to keeping the superyacht in the USA as befits her historical status: "It would be FE Partners' intention to keep the former presidential yacht in the United States, as we have publicly stated from the beginning."
The 1925 John Trumpy designed yacht has hosted several US presidents in her lifetime including Franklin Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Gerald Ford and President Kennedy.
Washington lawyer, Gary Silversmith, told the Delaware News Journal this week that he didn’t have the “financial and emotional energy” to continue fighting the case. The next major hearing was due on August 27 at Chancery Court in Delaware.
The trial The Sequoia Presidential Yacht Group LLC and Gary Silversmith v. FE Partners LLC, the latter which lent Silversmith US$5 million for upkeep of the yacht, has seen damning allegations from both sides since hearings began early this year. Silversmith alleged FE sought to improperly 'wrest control' of the yacht from him, lending him only half the agreed loan and forcing him to default. He said this was the 'dastardly' plan of the financier, which provides capital to preserve assets with historical value to the USA, to buy back the yacht at a massively reduced rate.
FE on its part says Silversmith altered and destroyed evidence, giving it grounds to file a motion for a default judgment. Case documents also reveal Silversmith had fallen into debt over previous loans for the yacht, and that crew were owed $25,000 in overdue wages, as reported earlier on SuperyachtNews.com.
Piece of history: Sequoia will stay in America whatever the outcome of the trial
FE issued a statement to say it would not comment on the litigation, but is committed to keeping the superyacht in the USA as befits her historical status: "It would be FE Partners' intention to keep the former presidential yacht in the United States, as we have publicly stated from the beginning."
The 1925 John Trumpy designed yacht has hosted several US presidents in her lifetime including Franklin Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Gerald Ford and President Kennedy.
Click here to become part of The Superyacht Group community, and join us in our mission to make this industry accessible to all, and prosperous for the long-term. We are offering access to the superyacht industry’s most comprehensive and longstanding archive of business-critical information, as well as a comprehensive, real-time superyacht fleet database, for just £10 per month, because we are One Industry with One Mission. Sign up here.
