Presidential yacht fight heats up in Delaware
Sequoia Presidential Yacht Group claims in a Chancery Court lawsuit filed late last week that FE Partners reneged on a $5 million loan agreement in a 'dastardly' plan to take control of the historic vessel.
English: Washington Navy Yards (Apr 23, 2003) --
The former Presidential Yacht USS Sequoia travels down the Potomac River near Washington D.C. in this undated US Navy photo.
US Navy
DOVER, Del.
The owners of the former presidential yacht Sequoia are asking a Delaware judge to prevent a lender from seizing it.
Sequoia Presidential Yacht Group claims in a Chancery Court lawsuit filed late last week that FE Partners reneged on a $5 million loan agreement in a "dastardly" plan to take control of the historic vessel.
Washington, D.C.-based FE Partners says the lawsuit is grossly inaccurate and without merit.
The Delaware lawsuit was filed after a New York judge dismissed a similar complaint last month on jurisdictional grounds. Both parties are Delaware limited liability companies.
The Sequoia plaintiffs claim that FE Partners lent only half the $5 million that was promised, leaving them in financial distress and subject to "trumped up" default claims that allow FE Partners to buy the yacht at a fire-sale price of $7.8 million.
According to the plaintiffs, the 104-foot Sequoia, built in 1925, is the longest-serving presidential yacht in American history. It was the official yacht for presidents from Herbert Hoover through Jimmy Carter.
The Sequoia was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987 and is currently docked at a marina about a mile south of the U.S. Capitol. The yacht is available for rental, at about $10,000 per charter.