Awful thing to happen to the poor guy.
One thing that struck me was how much of the case swung on him being a 'lapsed' member. The club constitution said that if not paid up in full by end of January then membership has lapsed, allowing him to sue the club and other members. It appears that what had lapsed was his payments, not his intention to be a member.
I know in our club money comes in dribs and drabs over the first 6 months of the year, the club being glad to get it and not making too much of a fuss about being late.
The case above has obvious implications for that. If the constitution says your membership has lapsed, it has lapsed. No debate. You could have dozens of non members using the facilities with a lot of implication for insurance, etc.
I'd say a lot of clubs will be reviewing their constitutions in the light of this case.