Connery sues US club for over $1m

Sir Sean Connery claims his name was used to increase membership

Actor Sir Sean Connery is suing a US country club, claiming it used his name to attract customers and failed to repay fees once his membership ended.

The Bond star has filed a lawsuit saying the Sherwood Country Club in California enhanced its reputation through his "worldwide celebrity".

He is demanding more than $1 million (£574,000) for breach of contract and "unjust enrichment".

The club has declined to comment on the legal proceedings.

Connery 'boosted value'

The lawsuit claims the club knew of the 75-year-old's lucrative status as an "internationally renowned celebrity and famously avid golfer" when it invited him to join at a reduced rate in 1990.

His celebrity boosted the club's value and attracted new members, the suit states.

When the Oscar winner resigned his membership in 2004, it's alleged his contract entitled him to collect eighty per cent of the "going" fee.

This is half of the sum now being demanded.

"The lawsuit was not our first choice," said Connery's lawyer, Louis 'Skip' Miller, "but they won't honour their obligations, so we had no choice but to file."

Sir Sean has recently made a full recovery from surgery for a kidney tumour.