Perhaps only in Palm Beach could a dispute about tennis courts turn into more than a dozen years worth of lawsuits involving bizarre allegations of hate mail, DNA theft and conspiracy.
But after a three-week trial, a jury on Nov. 21 found in favor of former Marvel chairman and billionaire Ike Perlmutter and his wife, Laura, in their lawsuit against a neighbor.
Laura was awarded $50 million for her defamation claims against Canadian businessman Harold Peerenboom, who has a home in Sloan’s Curve, the South End development where the Perlmutters’ also own a condo and a townhouse.
The Perlmutters also prevailed and were awarded damages on claims of civil conspiracy and abuse of process against Peerenboom and an insurance company lawyer. In addition, the jury awarded damages for humiliation and loss of enjoyment of life to the Perlmutters.
The dispute first began in 2011 between Peerenboom and Ike Perlmutter over management of the tennis courts at their complex.
Then in 2013, Peerenboom sued the Perlmutters, claiming they were behind a hate-mail campaign that accused him of child sex abuse and murder. The lawsuit said the mailings were an effort to force Peerenboom to withdraw from participation in the Sloan’s Curve community.
The Palm Beach Post first reported the story, which gained national and even international attention.
The conflict soon became one of the most bizarre whodunits in recent memory in Palm Beach, where money, fame and reputation can escalate even the most mundane offenses.
Ultimately, a former associate of Peerenboom was linked to the hate-mail campaign.
But the Perlmutters suffered for years with false claims about them, said their lawyer, Josh Dubin.
“They are relieved because they feel vindicated now not just by a judge but by members of the community,” Dubin said. “Going to court and reliving it was not easy for them.”
However, Dubin added, the Perlmutters “are the wrong people to pick a fight with.”
Forbes.com estimates Ike Perlmutter’s net worth at $5.2 billion.
Jordan Cohen, an attorney for Peerenboom, issued a statement indicating there would be an appeal of the $50 million award.
“While we continue to have the utmost faith in the jury system, we take issue with their verdict on the defamation claim where they were invited into error and rendered a verdict unsupported by the evidence presented at trial,” Cohen said in the statement.
Who are Ike and Laura Perlmutter?
Ike and Laurie Perlmutter are noted philanthropists who have donated more than $50 million to cancer research at NYU Langone Medical Center.
Ike Perlmutter also maintains a close relationship with President Donald Trump, and he acted as an outside adviser during Trump’s first term on issues related to the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to ProPublica.
Ike Perlmutter ranks as one of at least 40 Palm Beach billionaires on the latest Forbes list of the country’s 400 richest people. He is tied for 295th place on the list, which was based on financial data compiled Sept. 1.
Sloane’s Curve complex is home to figures in business, media
Sloan’s Curve, which was central to the lawsuit, is an oceanfront residential complex less than three miles from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and private club. The development includes condos, houses and townhomes.
Fox News conservative firebrand Sean Hannity recently bought his second townhouse at Sloan’s Curve, where property records show that both the Perlmutters and the Peerenbooms also have townhomes.
The litigation between Perlmutter and Peerenboom began in 2013. But their dispute really stems to two years earlier, in 2011, because they had different opinions about how the Sloan’s Curve tennis center should be run.
Subsequently, Peerenboom alleged in a 2013 lawsuit against the Perlmutters that he was the victim of a “criminal and pathological” scheme involving 1,148 false and hate-filled letters about him.
The letters were mailed to Palm Beach residents and friends, family, and even officials and clients in Canada, the lawsuit alleged. Some of the letters accused Peerenboom of homicide, child molestation and pedophilia. Letters written as if from Peerenboom also were sent to inmates at state and federal prisons, calling prisoners names and daring them to see Peerenboom on Palm Beach when they get out of jail, the complaint said.
Peerenboom’s lawsuit against the Perlmutters also claimed that Laura Perlmutter “ostracized” Peerenboom’s wife “by excluding her from social events, including a long-standing social card game at a nearby country club.”
In February 2013, the Perlmutters arrived at a law office to answer questions related to the dispute. They subsequently alleged their DNA was surreptitiously collected from water bottles and papers.
According to Florida law, it is a crime to obtain someone’s DNA without their knowledge.
In 2021, a Palm Beach County circuit court judge tossed the Peerenboom lawsuit against the Perlmutters.
The next year, the Perlmutters sued Peerenboom, his insurance company and the company’s lawyer for defamation, civil conversion, and conspiracy, among other claims.
The lawsuit said the DNA results were distorted to falsely implicate Laura Perlmutter in the alleged letter-writing campaign, and those distorted findings were then disseminated publicly. The lawsuit also said Peerenboom and the other defendants “conspired” to harm the Perlmutters.
More legal actions are still pending.
Dubin said the Perlmutters want to pursue punitive damages against the defendants. The matter now is before the Florida Supreme Court, which must decide if the claim can proceed.
In addition, a lawsuit against Peerenboom’s former law firm, Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, for malicious prosecution is ongoing.
Dubin said the Perlmutters have been so affected by the case, including the theft and misuse of their DNA, that they donated $15 million to the Cardoza School of Law in New York to create The Perlmutter Center for Legal Justice. The center trains students and lawyers in the proper use of scientific evidence.
Longtime businessman Ike Perlmutter acquired the struggling Marvel Comics in 1998 and turned the company around by producing blockbuster movies like “Spider-Man,” “Daredevil” and “Iron Man,” according to Forbes. He remained CEO of Marvel Entertainment after he sold a majority of the company to Disney in December 2009 for $4 billion in cash and stock.
In March 2023, he was laid off from his position running Marvel Entertainment as part of a restructuring. Perlmutter retained his shares in Disney, which he used to back a campaign by Palm Beach resident Nelson Peltz to claim a seat on Disney’s board of directors. Perlmutter lost the proxy fight in April 2024. He sold all 25.6 million of his shares in the following months, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Darrell Hofheinz and Jodie Wagner of the Palm Beach Daily News contributed to this story.
Alexandra Clough is a business writer at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. X: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Ex-Marvel chief Perlmutter, wife win trial against Palm Beach neighbor
Reporting by Alexandra Clough, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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