A Florida luxury condo community has gone to war over pickleball - and now it's ending up in court.

William Ljungstrom, a Swedish tennis professional and former fitness director at the Lotus Palm homeowners association in Boca Raton, is suing the HOA after a bitter falling out over the community's pickleball teams.

According to Ljungstrom's attorney, Matthew S Nelles, the whole saga started when an HOA board member was demoted to the pickleball B-team.

Allegedly, the board member was enraged by the demotion - and decided to take his revenge on Ljungstrom.

The feud escalated into an argument over whether nonresidents should be allowed to play on HOA community teams - despite the board member's pickleball performance allegedly having 'benefited' from nonresidents being allowed in.

Nelles claims the pickleball spat was then 'weaponized' against his client, ultimately ending with him being fired, marched off the property and accused in an email to residents of mishandling thousands of dollars.

Ljungstrom and his company, Swede Dreams LLC, filed suit against Lotus Palm, property manager GRS Community Management and three board members on September 14.

Nelles told Daily Mail that his client had been extremely popular during his time at the community.

'Many, many residents expressed their pleasure with his demeanor, skill, efficiency, and overall professionalism,' he said. 'In short, Mr Ljungstrom was extremely well-liked.'

So how did a game meant to bring neighbors together turn into a six-figure lawsuit?

According to the complaint, Ljungstrom started working as Lotus Palm's director of racquet sports in April 2025 and took over the community's fitness amenities the following month.

His contracts were renewed in July 2026.

Under the renewed agreement, $50,000 a year was set aside for Ljungstrom to hire and manage a full-time pickleball professional, with another $10,000 allocated for pickleball equipment.

Ljungstrom brought in an outside pickleball pro, allegedly retaining 10 percent of association funds to cover his expenses including insurance, accounting, payment processing and administrative staff.

Then came the team-selection drama - and the firing. According to Nelles, a board member was placed on a Division 2 team after being evaluated rather than being given a spot on the Division 1 team.

On August 11, the HOA allegedly sent him a termination letter and told him to leave the property immediately. He claims he was then left to collect his belongings and equipment from the pro shop under the watch of a security officer and others.

But the real sting, according to the lawsuit, came later that day.

The HOA allegedly emailed residents explaining Ljungstrom's termination and saying the move had been made to protect association funds.

Ljungstrom claims the message gave residents the impression that he had taken or misappropriated thousands of dollars. His lawyer says that was particularly damaging because, according to the complaint, Ljungstrom had not even been paid the money at issue when the email went out.

'That claim is wholly unsupported and intended, maliciously, to damage Mr Ljungstrom's reputation,' Nelles told us.

The complaint argues that the HOA had 'misunderstood' the $50,000 pickleball budget, and that nothing in Ljungstrom's contract required the entire amount to be handed over to the pickleball pro.

It further alleges that none of the $50,000 had been paid to the outside instructor when the email was sent.

Ljungstrom is now suing for defamation, arguing that the communication had 'accused him of criminal conduct.'

He also claims the HOA and board members interfered with his business arrangements by hiring the pickleball pro directly, allegedly in breach of a 12-month non-compete provision.

Another claim accuses Lotus Palm and GRS Community Management of civil theft involving at least $6,005 in allegedly unauthorized withdrawals from Ljungstrom's own business bank account.

The lawsuit also claims the association owes Ljungstrom and Swede Dreams at least $129,191 in compensation, pro shop revenue, private lesson revenue and inventory costs.

The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as treble damages and attorney fees over the civil theft claim. They also want a public retraction and apology - plus an order preventing the defendants from making further allegedly disparaging statements.

Nelles said his client would pursue punitive damages over what he described as malicious and reckless defamation.

He pointed to a 2010 Florida appeals court case, Lawnwood Medical Center v. Sadow, in which a jury awarded $5 million in punitive damages after finding a hospital liable for slander.

But for the plaintiffs, the heart of the dispute remains a petty pickleball disagreement that spiraled wildly out of control.

Nelles described the alleged reputational damage as stemming from 'a single push of the 'send' button' following the dispute over the composition of a pickleball team.

He claimed the board's actions had 'poisoned' Ljungstrom's reputation and described the alleged conduct as 'ill-conceived pettiness' by a single board member.

Asked whether HOAs are frequently involved in defamation disputes, Nelles said such cases were 'not unusual', arguing that board membership can sometimes lead to what he called 'unchecked bravado'.

He said Ljungstrom had tried to resolve the dispute before filing suit, but claimed the effort was 'not only unsuccessful, but utterly (and shamefully) ignored.'

Court records list Nelles and Kaila A. Jones of Johnson & Martin, P.A., in Fort Lauderdale, as attorneys for Ljungstrom and Swede Dreams.

The case is still in its early stages and Ljungstrom's claims have not been proven in court - and court records do not show a response from the defendants.

Daily Mail has contacted the Lotus Palm Homeowners Association for comment on the matter and is awaiting a response.