U.S. Open golf tournament parking at center of legal dispute between Riverhead town and company at Enterprise Park

Land set to be used as parking for the U.S. Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills next week is at the center of a legal dispute between its owner and the Town of Riverhead, court documents show.

Earlier this year, the United States Golf Association signed an agreement with the town to use Enterprise Park at Calverton’s runways, tie-down, and taxiway for the golf tournament for shuttles, security screening, and parking, court records show. The agreement included a 16-acre easement area owned by 400 David Court LLC, a Delaware-based company.

But in a lawsuit filed in the Suffolk County Supreme Court on Saturday, 400 David Court LLC said the decades-old easement agreement with the Community Development Agency stipulates that the disputed area should not be used for parking and its only legal use is as a taxiway and an “aircraft parking area."

The suit charges that the USGA has trespassed on and damaged the property. Staff affiliated with the golf association have repeatedly been denied access to the property, according to the town.

Riverhead town, seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to halt the firm's interference, says otherwise, noting that the company “does not have any legal rights to utilize the Easement Area in any meaningful way," court records show.

Moreover, the town contends that not having access to the easement area will lead to irreparable harm, causing people with disabilities and first responders to travel longer.

Crowds are expected to descend on Shinnecock Hills Golf Club this month for the U.S. Open, one of the PGA's four major tournaments. The Southampton club is the nation’s oldest incorporated country club, according to the USGA web page.

The company’s lawsuit claims that the town and the USGA, which oversees the tournament and didn’t respond to a request for comment, entered into a contract allowing the easement area to be used during the tournament “to park approximately 18,900 vehicles and shuttle an estimate of 43,470 people to and from the Town of Southampton."

Yet the company said in the lawsuit that it received written notice from the town regarding the tournament's use of the site only in late May.

Two police reports show that the business’s principal owner said workers had spray-painted his property without permission and damaged concrete blocks with construction equipment, according to court records.

“Defendants are actually and materially depriving Plaintiff from the full use and enjoyment of its interest in the Easement Area of the Property and Defendants have illegally and improperly converted the same for their own unauthorized and unlawful use," said the company's lawsuit, which also names the USGA and the Riverhead Community Development Agency as defendants, stated.

But the town has a different read on the easement agreement — and on their ability to use the disputed area. According to the town, the agreement grants easement “for all persons and vehicles related to the use of the Calverton Site." The agreement with the golf association allows its use for the tournament.

Furthermore, the town said that it previously used the area in question for vehicle storage, 5K runs, and drag racing special events, court documents show.

Erik C. Howard, town attorney, said in an email to Newsday that efforts were made to avoid escalation of the litigation and that his office will “pursue judicial intervention and injunctive relief against the owner of 400 David Court, LLC to enforce the Town's property rights.”

“The Town is committed to its partnership with USGA and their production of the U.S. Open," Howard said. “It is unfortunate that the owner of 400 David Court has pursued this misguided course of action."

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith is a general assignment reporter for Newsday. She previously worked at USA TODAY and is an alum of Howard University.