Gatton Park in Lexington asks judge to dismiss lawsuit filed over donation controversy
.JPG "Manny Hernandez, right, plays with the water features during the opening of Gatton Park on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in Lexington, Ky.")
Lexington’s Gatton Park on the Town Branch is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a park donor.
Lawyers for the park have asked Fayette Circuit Court Judge Dianne Minnifield to dismiss the lawsuit from Susan Naylor. Naylor, a Texas-based horse rancher and president of the Will Smith Foundation, said in a lawsuit last month that the park breached the donation agreement that went along with her $2 million gift.
Naylor argues the gift agreement gave her full naming rights over the private park’s water play area. Gatton Park did announce in June 2023 the feature would be named for her late son, William Naylor Smith, according to the lawsuit. However, the name of the feature is now simply Water Play.
An initial sign with a sentence thanking Naylor for her gift in honor of her son was placed by the water area, according to Naylor’s lawsuit, but that sign is not present at the feature today.
Naylor was critical of the signange and naming for the area that she had donated the money for.
Naylor told Gatton Park staff in a May 27, 2025, email “It would have been nice for the amount we were asked for to have come up with a clever name, other than ‘water play.’”
“And the signage is very bland,” she added.
Naylor’s donation agreement specifically said the park would consult with her about the name and signage design before the signs were printed, according to the lawsuit. Attorneys for the park argue park staff met their end of the agreement by sending Naylor a mockup of the signage design before it was ordered and asking for her feedback.
Naylor has asked the court to order the park to refund her $800,000, the portion of the total $2 million that she actually paid in 2023 and 2024.
She has not paid any additional money to the park, records show.
In the May 27, 2025, email, Naylor asked for the park to return the money that had already been paid as part of the pledge.
“Not being able to name the actual area - I’m done,” she wrote.
The agreement says that even if the agreement is terminated, the park “shall have no further obligation or liability to (Naylor) and shall not be required to return any portion of the Gift already paid,” court records sya.
Gatton Park’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit further says Kentucky state law specifically prevents nonprofits from being required to return money to donors. They cite KRS 273.155(5), which says if a court finds a nonprofit violated a donor agreement, “the court shall not order the return of the contribution to the donor or the donor’s legal representative or estate.”
“This prohibition is fatal to (Naylor’s) claims,” the park’s filing says. “The statute permits declaratory and injunctive relief to enforce donor-imposed restrictions but bars monetary recovery.”
The park’s request for dismissal also counters Naylor’s claims of fraud. Naylor’s suit argues Gatton Park defrauded her by drafting and signing an agreement they never planned to honor.
Gatton Park argues Naylor had the opportunity to negotiate the agreement and request language be changed that was more specific than the agreement she willingly entered. They insist they met the agreement’s terms.
“(Naylor) had the opportunity to review the Gift Agreement before execution and cannot now claim she was fraudulently induced to sign it.”
A hearing for the motion to toss the case is scheduled for 2 p.m. on July 24.
