Mediation in the Real World
For the last two summers, a classic shark versus minnow tale has been playing itself out on the front pages of the Boston Globe, countless local TV news stations, and, of course, social media.
A Billionaire Buys a Cottage
It started like this: Charles Johnson, the 91-year-old owner of the San Francisco Giants, billionaire, and recluse, bought a ton of properties on Nantucket Island in 2017. A ‘sprawling’ $25 million waterfront mansion on the high end and a 1,200 square foot cottage on one of Nantucket’s main wharfs (granted, a multi-million-dollar cottage by the time he gutted and finished it but still a cottage) that came with very rare Nantucket perks: parking and a boat slip.
The only reasons, really, for a reclusive billionaire to buy property there, as this description from the Globe nicely sums up:
“Old North Wharf isn’t near downtown, it is downtown. It’s sandwiched between two ferry terminals. It sits above the water taxi stop. It is jammed against Straight Wharf, home to restaurants, tourist shops, packed sidewalks, and bars – most notably, the open-air Gazebo, hailed or derided as the loudest establishment on the island.”
When he bought the cottage, the building next door to it was a fish market/ice cream shop that had been there for generations, famous for waffle cones and always jammed with people on the way to or from the ferry. It closed in the early days of the pandemic.
In 2022, a pair of successful, popular local chefs got approvals to open a clam shack in the old ice cream shop. They planned to open before July 2023.
An Email Campaign Against the Shack
That never happened. The moment the approvals were made public, Johnson began an email campaign to fellow property owners claiming that “It is rumored that the project as planned will have a full bar, dancing, music, and outdoor seating. It will essentially be a nightclub.”
The chefs started an extensive renovation. They didn’t get far before Johnson’s efforts paid off and while the town resisted pulling the permits, the lawsuits and legal threats started flying in one direction – at the chefs and the town.
Social Media Turns on the Billionaire
Soon, the calamari hit the fan. The story escaped the island and became a cause – the plucky restaurant-owning chefs against the out-of-touch billionaire. The story was everywhere. In the words of a Globe reporter, it was ‘probably the only time Town & Country, the Daily Mail, and Sports Illustrated were on the same side of a story.’
Social media hate descended on Johnson. He didn’t budge and the restaurant lost the chance to open in 2023.
Talking Out A Resolution Despite the Fighting
Despite all this, the restaurant is opening in a week or so. There are no lawsuits, no zoning challenges, no cease and desists, no more legal threats.
How did it happen? “The clam shack’s landlord, Steve Karp, picked up the phone and called Johnson . . . he asked Johnson to join him for a walk.
Johnson, by all accounts, eagerly agreed. They walked and talked, and Johnson told him the problems he had with the ‘clam shack.’ It turned out he had some very valid concerns. It turned out that some had already been addressed in the design of the renovation.
The remaining points, all concerning hours, noise, and smells were easily resolved – the restaurant moved their HVAC units to the other side of the restaurant and installed a heavy canvas, soundproof, tastefully decorated canvas tarp between the buildings to cut noise from the balcony.
For Johnson, it was really the first time he heard an accurate description of the restaurant.
Better Than Going to Court
One of the chefs summed it up nicely, “Opening a restaurant is an act of lunacy in the best of times. To get this deep into a legal battle, is it necessary? Do we need it? Is this really worth it?”
No, it clearly would not have been worth continuing to fight it out in the courts – for one thing, it was going to take forever. Years. Then there’s the legal fees.
It was worth it, however, to talk it out. In family law we call this mediation. In mediation, both sides get the facts, both sides get to hear what the other side thinks, then both sides get to reassess, reach agreement.