Suit Pits Shuttlecocks Against Tennis Balls

By DAVID MARTIN

Trustees of the Nelson Gallery Foundation have filed a lawsuit against the city of Kansas City, Missouri, because the City Council blocked the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art‘s plans to expand.

The trustees have leased land to the Rockhill Tennis Club since 1955, a relationship that has deteriorated over the years. In 2000, the trustees decided not to renew the lease upon its expiration in 2009. The trustees notified the club of its intention in 2004.

Club officials responded by trying to put political pressure on the Nelson. In the spring, the City Council passed an ordinance recognizing the club‘s role in “preserving the residential character of the Rockhill and Southmoreland neighborhoods.”