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Fashion mogul says he lived in 'peaceful harmony' in the Bahamas until billionaire Louis Bacon became his neighbor

Apr 10, 2015, 00:17 IST

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Canadian fashion magnate Peter Nygard claims he lived in "peaceful harmony" in the Bahamas for years until hedge fund billionaire Louis Bacon became his neighbor, according to court papers.

Nygard and Bacon have been famously feuding for years. Their battle is heating up again. 

The two tycoons own adjacent mansions on the exclusive Lyford Cay in the Bahamas. 

Nygard is the founder of Nygard International, which specializes in designing and manufacturing women's fashion. He owns a 150,000-square-foot Mayan-themed mansion. Bacon is the founder and CEO of Moore Capital Management-a New York headquartered macro hedge fund.

In January, Bacon filed a $50 million defamation suit in New York against Nygard claiming that Nygard has been on an "obsessive and malicious" smear campaign against him since mid-2010. Some of the "brazen lies" Bacon claimed Nygard spread about him include that he's a murderer, a white supremacist, a drug smuggler, an arsonist, a briber of politicians and an insider trader.

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Bacon has categorically denied all of Nygard's allegations.  

Bacon has also said that the statements allegedly made by Nygard have damaged his "professional, philanthropic and personal reputations."

And now Nygard has filed a counter suit seeking $50 million.

"This action brought by Mr. Bacon is only a small piece of the years-long war (and attempted land grab) he has been waging, and his complaint provides a highly inaccurate and incomplete picture of what has transpired," Nygard's countersuit said.

In the countersuit, Nygard also aims to link Bacon and Bacon's late property manager, Dan Tuckfield, to the November 2009 fire that caused "millions of dollars in damage" to his Mayan-themed property. 

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From Nygard's countersuit:

Tuckfield befriended and had numerous conversations with Vivian Whylly (the aforementioned Save Clifton activist). Tuckfield explained to Mr. Whylly that Mr. Bacon had an intense dislike for Mr. Nygård and that Mr. Bacon would obtain Mr. Nygård's property one way or another. In the Fall of 2009, Tuckfield further told Mr. Whylly to "watch what is going to happen." At or about that time, Tuckfield had also confronted an employee of Mr. Nygård and told Mr. Nygård's employee that Mr. Bacon had ordered him "to find a way to burn Mr. Nygård's '****ing house' down."Shortly thereafter, on November 11, 2009, Nygård Cay was beset by an enormous fire that caused millions of dollars in damage to Mr. Nygård's home. The cause of the fire remains unknown. Upon information and belief, fire trucks were delayed for twenty minutes to enter Nygård Cay, because they could not get past a gate on the private road controlled by Mr. Bacon's employees. A few weeks after the fire, Tuckfield had yet another conversation with Mr. Whylly and said to him, "see what I told you."While Mr. Nygård suspected that Tuckfield, at Mr. Bacon's urging, was involved with setting the fire, Mr. Nygård was denied the opportunity to have his lawyers question Tuckfield about it. Less than six months after the fire, Tuckfield was found dead, floating in the pool at Mr. Bacon's Point House estate. Tuckfield's watery death on Mr. Bacon's property was particularly suspicious given that he was an expert swimmer who had previously survived a plane crash in the ocean, miles offshore. Upon information and belief, Tuckfield's body was cremated before there was an opportunity to perform an autopsy and determine a cause of death.The November 2009 fire destroyed or otherwise caused damage to substantial portions of Nygård Cay. Mr. Nygård has since continuously sought permits from the government to rebuild the damaged structures. However, Mr. Bacon has opposed and interfered with Mr. Nygård's efforts at every turn.  It doesn't sound like a relaxing vacation for anyone involved in the court battle. Here's Nygard's counterclaim: 

 

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And here's the complaint Bacon filed against Nygard:

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