Companies fight over presidential yacht

Court documents show that Indian business owners of a U.S. corporation are attempting to wrest control of the presidential yacht Sequoia. Courthouse News Service said The Sequoia Presidential Yacht Group and its owner, attorney Gary Silversmith, have sued the company, FE Partners LL, in New York County Supreme Court. CNS said American presidents used Sequoia for half a century, and it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987. In 2000, a group of Japanese buyers attempted to buy the yacht, but Silversmith beat them to it, the report said. But the yacht group said they then loaned the vessel to FE Partners LLC for $5 million in 2012 due to tough economic times. Silversmith said that FE Partners defaulted by only providing half of what the contract required. Silversmith and the Sequoia group are seeking punitive and treble damages for breach of contract, as well as an injunction forcing FE to pay off the loan and relinquish any rights to the yacht.