King Richard’s Faire Lawsuit Over Carver Lease Dispute

The King Richard’s Faire lawsuit is a two-front legal fight between the festival’s new owners, Lancelot Entertainment Boston, LLC, and Alphonse A. D’Amico Sr., the longtime landlord of the faire’s original Carver, Massachusetts site. Each side accuses the other of torpedoing a lease renewal in bad faith. A federal case filed in February 2025 ended within months by stipulation, but a state case in Plymouth County Superior Court is still live: on March 23, 2026, a judge refused to throw out D’Amico’s counterclaims, sending the dispute into discovery.¹

Who Is Suing Whom

In August 2024, Lancelot Entertainment Boston, LLC bought King Richard’s Faire from the Shapiro family for $3.4 million. The sale required approval from D’Amico, who owned the land at 235 Main Street in Carver where the faire had operated since 1982. Under the deal, Lancelot owed D’Amico 25 percent of the sale price — about $850,000 — and had to renew his lease.²

That renewal never happened. Lancelot sued D’Amico first, in federal court, claiming he sabotaged the faire’s operations and schemed to replace it with a knockoff event. D’Amico fired back with state-court counterclaims accusing Lancelot of fraud, breach of contract, and lowballing the sale price to shrink his cut.

How the Lease Fight Blew Up

In June 2024, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding for a new ten-year lease. It would have guaranteed D’Amico at least $1.5 million per year in rent, or a set percentage of faire revenue, whichever was greater. Four months later, in October 2024, Lancelot sent D’Amico a draft lease dropping the rent to $400,000. According to D’Amico, Lancelot told him that if he did not accept, the faire would move to a neighboring property. Lancelot’s attorney later argued in court that the MOU was never meant to be legally binding.³

On February 19, 2025, a Lancelot affiliate bought the nearby Edaville Family Theme Park — roughly 250 acres — for $8.7 million.⁴ D’Amico says he did not know Lancelot had been negotiating that purchase while still talking lease terms with him. The next day, February 20, he ended negotiations and changed the locks on the Carver property. D’Amico called the lockout necessary to protect the site after the lease expired. Lancelot called it deliberate sabotage.³

The “Rival Faire” Allegation

A central Lancelot allegation is that D’Amico was quietly setting up a competing Renaissance festival on the same land. Court filings cite a short timeline:

On January 28, 2025, an entity called Camelot Renaissance Village, Limited Partnership was registered, with D’Amico’s niece as the registered agent.³
On February 23, 2025, applications were filed with the Town of Carver for an entertainment license and a special liquor license for an outdoor event with eight stages, for dates between August and October 2025.³
On March 3, 2025, D’Amico’s niece emailed town officials about “the possibility of hosting a Renaissance Faire at 235 Main St.”³

Lancelot also alleged D’Amico told a builder there “WILL be a Faire on the property” and solicited the faire’s employees and vendors for the new venture. D’Amico denied planning a competing event. He said the Camelot entity was registered for an unrelated estate matter and that he pursued permits only after it became clear Lancelot was leaving.⁵ No competing event ever took place on the land.

The Federal Case Ended Fast

Lancelot filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on February 27, 2025. The case, Lancelot Entertainment Boston, LLC v. D’Amico, Case No. 1:25-cv-10479, was assigned to Judge Angel Kelley.⁶ Lancelot immediately sought a temporary restraining order, and the court set an evidentiary hearing for March 5. That hearing was canceled after the parties reached a stipulation.

Under the stipulation, the parties agreed on a move-out schedule and D’Amico pledged not to run a competing Renaissance festival in 2025.⁵ Vendors got just two days, March 26 and 27, 2025, to clear their belongings from the old site.⁷ Lancelot voluntarily dismissed the federal action on May 20, 2025.⁶

The State Case Is Still Live

The real fight moved to Plymouth County Superior Court. In May 2025, Lancelot sued D’Amico there, alleging unfair and deceptive trade practices, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation.⁸ D’Amico filed counterclaims in July 2025 and amended them in September, alleging breach of contract, breach of good faith and fair dealing, negligent misrepresentation, and unfair and deceptive conduct.²

D’Amico’s version of events is sharply different from Lancelot’s. He alleges the $3.4 million sale price for the faire was artificially deflated to shrink his 25 percent cut, and that he was never given financial documents to verify the true number.¹ He also claims Lancelot damaged the grounds when it vacated in April 2025 and took large wooden doors from the main entrance, refusing to return them.⁸

Lancelot moved to dismiss the counterclaims. Judge Beverly Cannone heard argument on February 17, 2026, and ruled on March 23, 2026. She denied the motion, finding D’Amico’s claims “sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss on all counts” and noting that at the pre-discovery stage he only had to “surmount a minimal hurdle.”¹ As of mid-2026, the case has moved into discovery. No trial date or settlement has been reported.

Where the Faire Is Operating Now

While the state case grinds on, King Richard’s Faire has already relocated. Its 44th season ran from August 30 through October 19, 2025, at the former Edaville property at 5 Pine Street in Carver.⁹ Lancelot has told the court that D’Amico’s conduct in the lease dispute delayed its building permits, forcing part of the 2025 opening to run as a “tent show.”⁸ The 45th season is scheduled to start September 5, 2026, at the same Edaville site.¹⁰

1
The Patriot Ledger. King Richards Faire Alphonse DAmico Judge Lawsuit Carver MA
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The Boston Globe. King Richards Faire Carver Lawsuit
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The Patriot Ledger. King Richards Faire Carver MA Lawsuit Lancelot DAmico
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The Patriot Ledger. Richards Faire Moving Edaville Sold Closing Carver
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Boston.com. Was There a Secretive Plot to Evict King Richards Faire and Build a Rival Kingdom
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PACER Monitor. Lancelot Entertainment Boston LLC v DAmico
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WBSM. Carver King Richards Faire Sold Moving Edaville Ride Auction
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Providence Journal. Plot to Sabotage Usurp Beloved King Richards Faire Plays Out in Lawsuit
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Herald News. King Richards Faire Moving What to Know Carver Massachusetts Edaville Medieval
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King Richard’s Faire. King Richards Faire