Manhattan Club Lawsuit

Hi

New here, but have been with the club since 2003. Up to this point I have been paying my fees but today I received a letter from them telling me that they were raising my fee again and blaming it on all the terrible delinquent people who have refused to be bilked out of their money anymore. This was the last straw, I will no longer be supporting all you slackards out there I have had enough. Proud to join the new club.

Tom

I re-read Jeff Weirs letter of March 24th, to the forum. Apparently the court agreed to delay the March 31st hearing to June 29th so that "the oral arguments of both parties can continue "settlement negotiations." No information was provided about how broad those negotiations are, or over what they cover".

It appears that the club/Eichner want to "use operating revenues, including owner maintenance fees that pay for operations, to subsidize the Eichners' legal team as they continue to defend against the AG's investigation of possible wrongdoing at the club".

So the above statement infers that Eichner and his legal team are not allowed and are not using owner maintenance fees to subsidize their defense but they want to (future tense).

Since we don't know exactly what is being negotiated..I am going to go ahead and send in the letters I wrote to Rossi and the Judge (per Irene's advice) that ask that we owners be considered in any settlement. And it is good to know, that as of Jeff's March 24th posting, that Eichner is not using the maintenance fees for legal expenses. We have to know the facts and be accurate with them.

I thank all who have worked in the owners' interest. We have owned since 2001 and were not happy with MC and how the owners have been swindled out of their time use.

i think judge rakower is very familiar with all TMC owners' individual and common dilemmas concerning ownership in the TMC sham/fraud operation. perhaps letters to her might help, but that appears to be unlikely since she is aware of our issues.

chris

Are there any other class action lawsuits for those owners like me who live in CT?

My husband and I live in Maryland but have been unhappy owner for a while. We purchased our unit in 2001 and would love to sell. Marion

chrisv126 wrote:

i think judge rakower is very familiar with all TMC owners' individual and common dilemmas concerning ownership in the TMC sham/fraud operation. perhaps letters to her might help, but that appears to be unlikely since she is aware of our issues.

chris

Never hurts to remind her (Judge Rakower) and since Alyssa Rossi is new to the situation, it can't hurt to share again..esp since there are negotiations (of what we don't know) happening.

My name is Debbie Bowen Spinelli & I would like to have my name added in the Settlement as a Owner who experienced much frustration there at TMC. All the comments regarding TMC were already mentioned by others & I've posted my grievances public on Redweek. I am available to testify to the Judge in Court as I live close......I already handed in my complaint to the NYS AG Office a few yrs ago....kept my records also. My Attorney told me the matter was already in the Court when I'd requested his services. So, not to be overlooked I'm posting this again in this forum. Thank you for all your efforts as its time for the matter to be settled ASAP.

alexc100 wrote:

MC owners opened a lawsuite / class action in regards to the MC resrvations.

Everyone who is inerested to join the class action please contact me at alexcrystal22@gmail.com

You will be asked to fill out the Survey and send it or email the lawyer's office. It is urgent! Regards, Alex

This e mail address did not go thru.....I am writing all of my concerns in breech of their contract made to me to the Judge & Owners Attorneys on Record.

Debbie - good for you. Be sure to send all your info to both the Judge and the NYAG's office. You'll find both addresses further back in this stream. Thanks for getting the facts out there!

Thank you

From a TMC owner: "I just called and spoke to Louis M. Sullivan at the AG's office and voiced my concerns about their possible settlement talks with TMC. He seemed surprised at my terminology and replied that they were not settling the case but pursuing it despite TMC's continual delays. He recommended that I go on the website < https://ag.ny.gov/complaint-forms > and file a complaint form so they can track all of the issues we have against TMC. The Consumer Fraud form also has an option to request how you'd like it resolved, ie, money back which was my choice. There's also a form for Price Gouging. I'd recommend that you have all of your documents in attachment form ready before you begin your entry as you submit immediately. Mr. Sullivan also said out of state people like myself can file complaints on the website. The AG's office compiles all of our complaints as part of the evidence in their case. So that's another action we can all take in addition to contacting Judge Rakower and the attorneys mentioned." In regards to the Lowell Sidney's case here is the re-post from susanp816 on Redweek, March, 23: " I received this message back from the attorney when I asked him why the class action suit was dismissed: There were issues with Statute of limitations, inability to demonstrate a breach, and that there is no private right of action under the Martin Act."

Thank you

I disagree. The only way the Court and the AG can see the huge scope and magnitude of the fraud they are investigating is for everyone who feels they've been swindled by TMC to write and give their own, personal, specific examples and details. We want a huge preponderance of facts and evidence to support the AG's case, so that the only possible outcome can be judgement and award against TMC owners and partners - and hopefully significant relief and/or release for us TS owners. So yes, please, write those letters and fill out those forms because they are the only voice we have.

chrisv126 wrote:

i think judge rakower is very familiar with all TMC owners' individual and common dilemmas concerning ownership in the TMC sham/fraud operation. perhaps letters to her might help, but that appears to be unlikely since she is aware of our issues.

chris

I am wondering why Louis M. Sullivan at the AG's office assumed there was no "settling the case but pursuing it despite TMC's continual delays". The settlement discussions are going on along with the pursuing the case! here is the quote from the Judge Eileen Rakower' Stipulation on MARCH 22, 2017:

"IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED BY AND BETWEEN THE UNDESIGNED COUNSEL, THAT:

1. BECAUSE OF ONGOING SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS, ORAL ARGUMENT SHALL BE ADJOURNED ON RESPONDENT'S PENDING MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM THE ASSET FREEZE TO PAY LEGAL FEES (DKT. NO. 368)

2. ORAL ARGUMENT ON RESPONDENT'S MOTION (DKT. NO. 368), SHALL BE HEARD ON JUNE 29, 2017 AT 2.30 PM, A TIME THAT IS CONVENIENT FOR THE COURT."

Stipulation is available on the court docs on-line https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=MkwjilkfzUBbul51AiM_PLUS_Jw==&system=prod

My guess, the owner who talked to Louis M. Sullivan at the AG's office, contacted Sullivan before the Stipulation was issued on 03.22.17; otherwise Mr. Sullivan provided no-full information or disinformation.

irenes93 wrote:

From a TMC owner: "I just called and spoke to Louis M. Sullivan at the AG's office and voiced my concerns about their possible settlement talks with TMC. He seemed surprised at my terminology and replied that they were not settling the case but pursuing it despite TMC's continual delays. He recommended that I go on the website < https://ag.ny.gov/complaint-forms > and file a complaint form so they can track all of the issues we have against TMC. The Consumer Fraud form also has an option to request how you'd like it resolved, ie, money back which was my choice. There's also a form for Price Gouging. I'd recommend that you have all of your documents in attachment form ready before you begin your entry as you submit immediately. Mr. Sullivan also said out of state people like myself can file complaints on the website. The AG's office compiles all of our complaints as part of the evidence in their case. So that's another action we can all take in addition to contacting Judge Rakower and the attorneys mentioned." In regards to the Lowell Sidney's case here is the re-post from susanp816 on Redweek, March, 23: " I received this message back from the attorney when I asked him why the class action suit was dismissed: There were issues with Statute of limitations, inability to demonstrate a breach, and that there is no private right of action under the Martin Act."

My wife and I have been Manhattan Club timeshare owners since 2004. We are interested in joining the Manhattan Club class action lawsuit. I attempted to e-mail Alex Crystal at the e-mail address provided so as to join this lawsuit, but the e-mail address did not work. Please send us a working e-mail address or a regular mailing address for Mr. Crystal.

James M. Upton

Eager to be involved. We submitted our names a few months ago, but never heard back. Thomas & barbara Reade

We have also responded to this requestof joining the group and never herd back . Please add us to the group of angery and disatisfied owners. Thanks, Walt and Susan Weir

Fellow owners...I just read an article in AARP, April 2017...the question was asked: I own vacation time shares "in perpetuity" (we we all do with TMC)..Does that mean my children may be forced to accept them and continue montlhy payments when I die? The answer was: Heirs cannot be forced to pay on a contract that they never agreed to.. They may owe any outstanding fees or debt, but payments stop when the estate closes and the assets are distributed to heirs. I was led to believe by my lawyer and TMC that I was responsible and had to accept the timeshares. I asked can I refuse these and I was told I could refuse my whole inheritance but not parts of it, like these timeshares. So I did what I was advised, put them in my name and now own them...One I gave back for $100 that I have not yet seen. Anyway, Robert Clements, vice president of regulatory affairs at the American Resort Development Association says inheritors can formally refuse ("disclaim") the inheritance of timeshares. So for those of you with kids and concern about this issue, you have your answer...just be sure your kids know.

Great information, Deborah. I also asked my lawyer, since I would never want to saddle my sons with this albatross. Hopefully, this will be settled in the not too distant future, and we can sell TMC, even for a few dollars, so I won't have to pay the exorbitant maintenance every two years!

Early in this case I called the Judge's office. I spoke to her court clerk.

I was told the Judge may not read individual letters but the volume of letters she receives on a case makes an impact.

Keep writing to the Judge and to the new lawyer on the case Alyssa Rossi.

Irene Smalls