Yu Darvish Sued By Neighbors Claiming Fence Illegally Blocks View

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EVANSTON, IL — A lawsuit filed last month against Chicago Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish and his wrestling world champion wife, Seiko, accuses the couple of using "bait-and-switch" tactics to gain permission for a 6-foot solid wood fence at their Evanston home, in violation of a verbal agreement and a decades-old easement.

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Alexis and Craig Eyler, Darvish's neighbors, filed a four-count complaint in Cook County Circuit Court March 29 asking a judge to rule that the Darvishes' fence obstructs their view of Lake Michigan, breaking a 1950 agreement.

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Darvish, 32, signed a six-year, $126 million contract with the Cubs last February. In May, he and his wife purchased the lakefront property at 90 Kedzie Avenue for $4.55 million through an entity called Darax LLC, which is managed by his agents, Los Angeles-based Wasserman Media Group. The company has not responded to a request for comment.

Then in June, the Darvishes requested exceptions to Evanston's city code to allow them to surround the property with a 6-foot wrought iron fence. According to his application, Darvish "has had security concerns in the past due to his public recognition." His neighbors, including the Eylers, objected.

"It saddens us that Mr. Darvish and his wife opted to pursue these changes without reaching out to their new neighbors first. Finding out about these impactful changes via a postcard in the mail dismays us. We certainly welcome the Darvish family to Evanston and have every intention of being good neighbors, but being neighborly is a two-way street," they wrote in a letter to the Evanston Zoning Board of Appeals. "There are numerous famous, prominent and/or wealthy individuals who live in Evanston and manage to do so without requesting special treatment."

Another neighbor, Pierre Durand, recommended that Darvish should "adjust to Evanston's way of living, or else, he should contemplate a tall gated community in a western suburb," with all the privacy he wanted "without ever thinking about being part of his neighborhood."

According to the Eylers' suit, the couple moved into a home to the immediate southwest of the Darvishes' property in January. They first learned of the Darvishes' request for a zoning variance from the city via a postcard in June announcing the ZBA meeting.

"Though the Eylers wanted to be good neighbors and not get off on the wrong foot, they were concerned about the how the proposed fence might affect their Easement and surprised that the Darvishes had not contacted them before seeking a zoning variance from the city," their complaint said.

The Historic Preservation Commission recommended against the six-foot fence, Evanston Zoning Administrator Scott Mangum denied the request and the ZBA voted 5-1 to reject the appeal — although an eventual compromise agreement allowed for a wrought iron fence no taller than 4 feet in the front yard.

But before the compromise was adopted, the Darvishes and their neighbors had come to an "accord," according to the Eylers' suit. At a July 11 meeting at the Darvishes' home, Ms. Darvish and two other family representatives, the Darvishes' real estate agent, a contractor and their Evanston City Council representative — though not Mr. Darvish — met for more nearly two hours, it said. Following a "contentious start," the neighbors agreed not to object to the proposal in exchange for assurances that the fence would be built out of wrought iron and not interfere with the Eylers' view of the lake.

In support of that version of events, the suit includes an exhibit with a copy of a July 13, 2018, email from the Darvishes zoning consultant, Matt Rodgers, to the neighbors and 3rd Ward Ald. Melissa Wynne. In the email, Rodgers claimed the plan "includes a 6' wrought iron fence along the south and west property lines."

At the July 17 ZBA meeting, Wynne said the neighbors and the Darvishes' representatives had hashed out an agreement after going "point by point" through their concerns.

"The view easement is going to be followed in the backyard, and that there will be a wrought iron fence all the way around the property," said Wynne, who has so far declined to offer any comment on the matter.

According to their suit, after the meeting the Eylers "considered the matter closed and hoped that everyone would move on as happy neighbors."

"But things got worse," according to the suit. A temporary fence interfered with their ability to get to the lake. The complaint also alleges the Darvishes "failed to clean up debris that had been littered along the utility easement path. Though the Eylers asked the Darvishes to keep the utility easement path clear, the Darvishes ignored the Eylers' requests."

The Eylers received notice that the Sept. 11 meeting of the Evanston Preservation Commission would consider plans for a garage addition to the Darvish property, according to Ms. Eyler. With no objections to the garage addition, the Eylers saw little reason to attend. Rodgers explained the meeting had been postponed but the Eylers would be notified when the matter would be discussed by the board, she said.

"We never heard anything else," Eyler said. "So it wasn't until after the fact, when I think my neighbor [Durand] may have stumbled on the October meeting." Wynne, the aldermen who had advocated a compromise between the neighbors, said she was also unaware of the change of materials until after the commission's meeting had taken place.

According to Preservation Commission records, the Oct. 9 meeting was a reconsideration of the initial fence request, which had been continued until the ruling from the zoning appeals board. For the first time, representatives of the Darvishes presented plans to build the fence out of wood rather than wrought iron.

"Without the Eylers there to voice an objection, the Darvishes' bait-and-switch tactic worked," the lawsuit said, "and the Preservation Commission approved their proposal for a solid wood fence completely obliterating the Eylers’ view of the lakefront." When they pointed out the fence would violate the easement, the Preservation Commission pointed out the disagreement was a private matter and declined to reconsider its decision.

"We are now moving into the next phase," Rodgers, the zoning consultant, said at the meeting. "When we presented to you last time we talked about how we didn't have materials selected because we didn't know where we were building a fence. At this point now we know where we're building a fence so we've also selected materials."

The easement, which dates from when the property was initially subdivided, requires that the owners of the Eylers' home be granted an "unobstructed view of Lake Michigan" and the ability to walk to the lakefront, according to a copy included with the lawsuit.

It said the Darvishes "refused to back down, claiming that the Eylers' easement only prohibits a 'building or buildings' on the portion of the property in question, not a fence or landscaping that would obstruct the Eylers' view of the lakefront."

The case is due to be heard on July 29 at the Daley Center.

Earlier:

• Cubs Pitcher Yu Darvish Swings For 6-Foot Fence, Misses
• Yu Darvish Looks To Buy City's Lakefront, Build Fence Around Home