ON THE BRINK IN STONEY POINT
Insurance cost may force club to close
The Stoney Point Sportsmen’s Club is facing skyrocketing insurance costs and could soon be forced to close after it was dragged into a lawsuit over an alcohol-related snowmobile crash.
The six-decade-old club, a social hub in the small community, was shocked to learn recently that its insurance costs would surge from $4,750 a year to $47,000.
Organizers will launch a lastditch effort to save the club Saturday — the day their insurance runs out — with a membership drive in hopes of raising enough money for the first payment on a new policy.
“It means everything to this town, it means everything to my family,” said manager Yvette Tremblay, 59, who grew up attending events at the club. “We have all our family reunions here. It would be just terrible if this place closes. This is where memories are made. We have a baby shower Saturday morning. We do celebrations of life. Everybody comes to the club to get together. We’re all a big happy family. It’s just terrible that the insurance and lawyers have created this monster about suing everybody.”
The club’s troubles stem from a civil suit launched by Derek Riberdy of Emeryville. He is suing Pierre Houle, from Belle River, for $900,000 after a Jan. 17, 2015, crash on Lake St. Clair.
According to Riberdy’s statement of claim, he was riding his ATV on the ice when Houle collided with him on a Ski-Doo. Among other things, Riberdy claims that Houle was riding at “an excessive rate of speed” while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Riberdy’s lawsuit states he suffered permanent injuries and reduced strength to his neck, shoulders, arms, hips and lower back.
After receiving the statement of claim, Houle filed a third-party lawsuit against the Sportsmen’s Club for any damages or costs he might be ordered to pay out.
Those court documents state that Houle and Riberdy were both drinking at the Sportsmen’s Club, which served one or both of them “to the point of extreme intoxication.”
The third-party claim alleges the club and its servers failed to monitor Houle and Riberdy’s alcohol consumption, allowed them to leave the bar drunk and didn’t provide them with other means of transportation, among a list of other accusations, which have not been proven in court.
The club has filed a statement of defence denying all the allegations.
“It’s not our fault,” Tremblay told the Star. “We didn’t put the drink down this man’s throat. We didn’t force him to go out on the lake and have a head-on collision. We didn’t do this to him.”
She said the organization learned last month that, thanks to the lawsuit, its current insurance provider will not renew its policy.
Tremblay has called several other providers, she said, and the response was grim. Two were willing to insure the club for property only, not including the boat ramp, as long as they don’t serve alcohol. That would cost $10,000 a year.
Tremblay said one other company is willing to insure the club, including liability for serving alcohol — for a whopping $47,000.
“We were stunned, we didn’t know what to think,” she said. “It took us a day to absorb this. How can you tell us this? We’re a nonprofit organization. There’s no way we’d have that money sitting around because we give everything back to the community.”
The club, which has 272 members, raises money for several causes including children’s and senior’s programs, charity poker runs and prostate cancer research. Without insurance, Tremblay said the club can’t operate. It won’t be able to help those causes. She said 10 jobs will be lost. Dart leagues, baby showers and weddings will be cancelled.
“How devastating is that to a young bride and groom who booked last September for their wedding?” she said. “How are they going to find something?”
Tremblay, who watched her parents celebrate many milestones and her sisters get married at the club, hopes to raise $10,000 on Saturday. To make that happen, they are offering four levels of membership with varying perks. Prices range from $50 to $1,000.
“We need to come up with $10,000 on Saturday to even apply to get the insurance,” said Tremblay. “They have agreed that they will let us pay monthly for our insurance but we need $10,000 to seal the deal.”
If they don’t raise the cash, she said the baby shower Saturday morning will be the club’s last event.
“We close the doors,” said Tremblay. “It’s that simple.”
The Stoney Point Sportsmen’s Club membership drive begins at 3 p.m. Saturday at 6348 St Clair Rd. Call 519-798-3032 or go to the club’s Facebook page for more information.