Bahamian Court Orders Nygard To Jail

Peter Nygard has been fined $50,000 after being found in contempt of court after a June hearing.  Louis Bacon and Peter Nygard were in court following a disagreement on boundary lines over their properties. Bacon bought Point House, located next door to Nygard's and made changes to his home within the boundaries as specified in the deeds. Without thinking he was doing wrong, Louis Bacon erected some new front gates, planted some shrubs and placed coral stones to line his entranceway.

Enraged neighbour Nygard began to object to these changes, removing the shrubs and stones, placing large boulders across Bacon's entranceway, placing signs which said "To Nygard Cay" on the main roadway and pointed them toward the entranceway. He also raised the roads with additional asphalt, and removed the new front gates Mr Bacon has installed.

After many attempts to talk with his neighbour Louis Bacon decided that court action was the only way to stop this war of land, and clear up the boundary confusing once and for all. Justice Stephen Isaacs ruled in favour of Bacon and instructed that Canadian fashion designer undo the damage he has caused, remove all signs, and restore the land as it was. He was given a set period of time in which to do this. Unfortunately Nygard failed to carry out the instructions handed to him by the courts, and he was later found in contempt and sentenced to 30 days in prison.

Louis Bacon purchased the easement at Point House as part of his ongoing commitments to conservation, both at home and abroad. He's the founder of The Moore Charitable Foundation and has developed many easements and donated land to preservation charities in order to maintain a healthy habitat for wildlife and local residents.

Nygard had been used to using this easement as a quicker means to reach his own extravagant Nygard Cay home, and one can only assume that he became incensed at the inconvenience of his new neighbour moving in.  It was proved in court that Nygard had instructed several of his staff members to cause the damage, which he now has to put right or reimburse Mr Bacon if he has to do the work himself.

Justice Stephen Isaacs wrote in his 11 page ruling "Mr Nygard broke a solemn obligation to the court. It matters not that a party passionately believes in his case, self-help justice of the nature seen in this case must be stopped as a matter of urgency by the regulatory coercive powers of the court."