Overview
- A lawsuit filed Tuesday in Fayette Circuit Court asks Town Branch Park to return $800,000 that a Texas philanthropist paid toward a pledged $2 million gift after she says the park failed to give her son a named Water Play Area as promised.
- The plaintiff, Susan Naylor, says her 2021 pledge included the right to consult on and approve donor-recognition signage that would read for her late son William Naylor Smith, but the installed feature is labeled simply “Waterplay.”
- Town Branch Park has publicly said it followed a uniform donor-signage design, that donations are irrevocable and nonrefundable, and that Naylor missed a scheduled 2025 payment that could affect naming rights.
- Naylor’s complaint names park executives and asserts breach of contract, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment while seeking repayment, interest, attorney’s fees, and additional damages.
- The dispute surrounds a high-profile downtown revitalization project and could prompt closer scrutiny of naming agreements, payment schedules, and nonprofit fundraising policies going forward.