Can the long-running feud between Lisa Lewis and her former neighbors Hamilton International finally come to an end? The OnlyFans star launched a harassment lawsuit against the club and won $10,000 in damages and nearly $40,000 in costs, but it was overturned on appeal to the Supreme Court.
Lewis became an overnight sensation in 2006 when she wore a bikini to watch the All Blacks play, and now she has lost her appeal against the decision. The saga began six years ago when Lewis, who rented a house only accessible through the Metropolitan Club car park, made a series of complaints about the behavior of club guests.
In a Court of Appeal ruling released this month, judges Brendan Brown and Christine French said Lewis had rented the property since 2013 without any problems, but the decision was made as the club appointed a new manager in 2017. Manager, things have changed.
Due to the presence of lampposts, telephone poles and bollards, the only vehicle access to the property is through the club’s car park. The club, which describes itself as the city’s “friendliest” club, was not opposed to the deal before relations soured.
According to the District Court ruling, Lewis and new manager Eoin Morgan met when Lewis rented a room at the Sails Motor Inn from him. Morgan asked them to leave the motel and the couple felt they “mutually disliked” each other.
Justices Brown and French wrote that there had been a “numerous number of incidents, complaints and counter-complaints” since Morgan became the club’s new manager in 2017. The incident culminated in a complaint being filed against Lewis in September 2020, and a large metal fence was subsequently erected in November of that year, preventing her from accessing her property.
But the problem remains.
“Police intervened and negotiated an arrangement whereby Ms Lewis was able to access her property via a slightly different route to before, but still via the car park.”
In December 2020, Lewis filed a harassment lawsuit against the club in the District Court.
Their complaints included excessive noise from club members, late-night honking, verbal abuse, urinating and defecating on the border fence, obstruction of vehicles, illegal parking of motorhomes and excessive lighting by floodlights in the car park.
The association countersued for trespass.
District Judge David Cameron found the club’s behavior was “insidious” and that it was a nuisance to Lewis because it denied her the right to lawfully enter her home.
