North Shore Golf Fall 2016

FIRST AMONG EQUALS >>>
“The worst of it
was that the club
abjectly refused to
consider that what
they were doing
was wrong.”
~ Marsha Kazarosian
Borne said new rules were put in
place that affected only the women.
“We could no longer tee off early on
weekends as we had been allowed to
do for years. Our golf professional,
Tom Dufresne, had always let us go
out early, because it was just dumb
to have to sit around and have the
tee empty.
“Sometimes, the men would ridicule
us when we were waiting, just being
downright mean. That was only one
part of it, but it was sitting there on
weekends having to wait to play
when nobody was on the tee that
started it.”
Borne said Sally Brochetti got
the ball rolling by suggesting that
the aggrieved women needed to
take action.
Brochetti knew someone who
worked in Kazarosian’s office and
said she was a good lawyer. “So we
got in the car and went to her
office,” said Borne.
That one meeting was all Kazarosian
needed to be convinced that the
women were being treated unfairly.
“I couldn’t believe my ears when
they told me what was going on,”
Kazarosian said. “But I was
convinced that the whole thing
could be resolved with a phone call,
as I knew people at Haverhill. But
when I made that call, I was given
short shrift and told, ‘Don’t you
worry your head about this, we will
resolve it ourselves.’ It was so
condescending. So, shortly after
that first meeting with Sally, we
filed with the MCAD.
“The worst of it was that the club
abjectly refused to consider that
what they were doing was wrong.
They refused to accept responsibility,
they dug in their heels in spite of
the fact that they were blatantly
violating the law.”
The group originally swelled to
as many as 22 plaintiffs, but that
number quickly decreased when
some of the women’s spouses got
wind about what was happening.
Borne said one of the most
disturbing incidents involved a
female member who dropped out
of the group because of her
husband. “I still remember the
day she came into the locker
room, sobbing uncontrollably.
She said her husband found out
about the lawsuit and told her,
‘Sure, you can be a part of it,
but use your own money.’ She
was a stay-at-home mom who
raised five or six kids; she had no
money of her own. I was the only
single woman in the group, but
I could not believe how anyone
could not want equal rights
for his wife.”
The number fell further when
some women realized the lawsuit
would impact their ability to just
go to the club and play golf. One
woman dropped out after the
case had been filed, leaving nine
plaintiffs – Borne, Brochetti,
Diana Cordner, Pamela Dean,
Cindy Johnston, Laura Kimball,
Linda Letendre (who later secured
separate counsel), Karen Richardson
and Maria Torrisi – who vowed
to continue.
On a personal level, the lawsuit
had a devastating effect. Letendre’s
marriage ended. Kimball, a real
estate agent, lost clients and business.
Plaintiffs lost the social benefits one
enjoys belonging to a country club:
the women were shunned by fellow
members, male and female. They
no longer felt welcome at their
own club.
On October 28, 1999, a Superior
Court jury found for the women a
nd awarded the group $1,967,400
in damages after a four-and-a-halfweek
trial. Judge John C. Cratsley,
who presided over the trial, also
ordered permanent cessation of all
unlawful discriminatory actions.
During the trial, the club fought
to prove that it was not a “place
of public accommodation.” The
plaintiffs fought just as hard to
prove it was. >>>
8 >>> FALL 2016