SHEBAH CARFAGNA: Alleges the exclusive residential Fisher Island Club engaged in a pattern of racially motivated and discriminatory behavior including diverting fitness classes and clients to white instructors. PHOTO COURTESY OF SHEBAH CARFAGNA

By David L. Snelling

Miami – A former fitness trainer who worked for a Fisher Island residential club has filed a federal lawsuit accusing her former employer of firing her because she’s Black.

Shebah Carfagna is suing Fisher Island Club allegedly for racial discrimination and seeking an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages.

According to the lawsuit filed last year in the United States District Court of Southern District of Florida, Carfagna claims she was the only Black working there before she was terminated in 2024.

Carfagna alleges the luxe residential club engaged in a pattern of racially motivated and discriminatory behavior including diverting fitness classes and clients to white instructors.

She also said the club deprived her of equipment which was required to teach classes and withheld her earnings.

Carfagna says she incessantly complained to club officials about the hostile working environment, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

Instead, she claimed she was fired.

The club’s attorneys said Carfagna’s accusations are false and asked U.S. District for the Southern District of Florida Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz to dismiss the lawsuit, saying Carfagna failed to state a claim.

Instead, Ruiz dismissed two counts from the litigation and sent another to arbitration in February 2025.

A fourth count, alleging the club’s actions demonstrate an intent to discriminate against Carfagna on the basis of her race, remains pending.

Carfagna worked on Fisher Island for 14 years through her Panache Fitness brand.

The Fisher Island Club released a statement to the South Florida Times denying Carfagna’s claim that she was fired because of her race, saying that it ended its contractual relationship with Panache Fitness for legitimate business reasons.

Carfagna’s company, the club said, “had an almost 14-year relationship with Fisher Island Club to provide fitness instruction to club members. In April 2024, the club concluded its contractual relationship with Panache Fitness for legitimate business reasons. The Club is disappointed that last year Ms. Carfagna filed a lawsuit alleging that this decision was unlawful.

However, the club is committed to continue to address such allegations through the appropriate legal channels as the allegations are unfounded and without merit.”

Fisher Island, an exclusive community in Miami Beach which can only be accessed by boat or helicopter, is one of the wealthiest communities in the United States.

The average home price is $14.8 million with a median home price of $8 million, according to EchoFine Properties.com.

It has been home to celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, actor Mel Brooks and former pro tennis star Boris Becker.

Membership rates at The Fisher Island Club go as high as $200,000 per year.