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Manhattan Club Lawsuit
Hello again to all TMC owners.
Want to update you all, once again, that there is NO class action lawsuit pending against the club. All talk and posts on this forum about a class action lawsuit are wish fulfillment, not based on any facts that RedWeek is aware of.
Jeffrey W.
Last edited by jeff_reports on Aug 12, 2017 04:02 PM
Update on update. The first message on that forum in regards to the survey was posted 5 years ago in 2011 (check the date on page 1). Back then lawyer Blau launched a MC Class action. That case was closed a year later and is not relevant to the current AG investigation that was opened in 2014.
Fibo N.
I reviewed the NY Courts e-filing site and saw no reference to settlement of the AG's lawsuit. Is there one proposed?
K.A. DiMuzio, Sr.
jeff_reports wrote:Hello, please send name and phone number of your lawyer to me: jeff@redweek.comWould like to verify and amplify her comments about settlement. Since none of the major legal issues in this investigation have been resolved, a settlement would be surprising. But after 3 years, owners have waiting long enough for a resolution of this case.
Kenneth A.
I am a long time owner (Penthouse) at the Manhattan Club. Like many others, I enjoy my time in NYC at the Manhattan Club, but have been stunned all these years by the increase in my fees from $700 at purchase time to now over $3000. I would appreciate a summary of the issues in the lawsuit, whether new participants are encouraged and/or welcome and, especially the status of the suit right now. Thank you very much. sharonfarb@aol.com
Sharon F.
A.G. Schneiderman Announces $6.5 Million Settlement With Midtown Manhattan Timeshare That Scammed Purchasers
The Manhattan Club, Timeshare In Midtown Manhattan, Will Pay Restitution To Hundreds Of Purchasers That Were Misled About Their Ability To Reserve Rooms And Resell Shares
Settlement Is The Largest In Recent History Of The AG’s Real Estate Finance Bureau
Schneiderman Reminds New York Residents To Be Wary Of High-Pressure Sales Traps Utilized By Some Timeshare Companies
NEW YORK – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a $6.5 million settlemnt with the owners and operators of the Manhattan Club, a timeshare building in Midtown Manhattan, over the sponsor’s repeated false promises to potential and current share owners.
The settlement is the largest in recent history for the Attorney General’s Real Estate Finance Bureau. Under the terms of the settlement, the operators of the Manhattan Club, at 200 West 56th Street, acknowledge that they repeatedly misled shareowners about the club’s reservation process, their ability to sell back their shares, and the details of the club’s state-approved offering plan.
“The owners of the Manhattan Club lured thousands of timeshare buyers with false promises and shady sales tactics that violated New York law,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “While timeshares can be legitimate enterprises, scams like this one are common. To avoid becoming a victim, always be wary of high pressure sales tactics.”
The club bills itself as a “unique” “residence-style boutique hotel” that blends “a vacation ownership retreat with a luxury suite hotel” and that offers “a hard-to-find haven in the midst of this active city.” The website appeals to people who “frequently visit New York City to enjoy Broadway theatre, fine dining and shopping, [and] classical performances.”
The owners and operators in this case are T. Park Central LLC, O. Park Central LLC, Park Central Management, LLC, Ian Bruce Eichner, Leslie H. Eichner, Stuart P. Eichner, Scott L. Lager, Hospitality Advisors, LLC, New York Urban Ownership Management, LLC, and Manhattan Club Marketing Group LLC.
In addition to the $6.5 million restitution to eligible timeshare owners, the settlement requires:
The owners and operators to be barred from the timeshare industry The owners and operators will sell their stakes to a third-party purchaser and relinquish management control Remove all sponsor-appointed current officers and directors from their positions as members of the Board of the Timeshare Association. Eligible timeshare owners will be contacted by a Claims Administrator at a later date about disbursement of the restitution.
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) began investigating the Manhattan Club in 2014 after receiving repeated complaints from shareowners who paid tens of thousands of dollars to become Manhattan Club “owners,” but were unable to make reservations due to a claimed lack of available rooms by the hotel’s operators. At the same time, rooms in the Manhattan Club were being rented over the internet to the general public, in violation of the timeshare’s offering plan.
In Spring 2014, OAG sent undercover investigators to record the Manhattan Club’s “Vacation Ownership Experience” sales presentation. Investigators found evidence indicating that the Manhattan Club’s sales tactics amounted to a bait-and-switch scheme.
Prospective purchasers were baited by a relentless sales pitch that included a number of misleading promises, including that ownership in the Manhattan Club is “better than money in the bank.” Prospective buyers were also told that the club does not rent rooms to the general public, that reservations were easy to make, and that few restrictions apply to reservations by owners.
But these promises were false. For example, contrary to the club’s explicit promises in its offering plan, room availability to owners was greatly limited because rooms were being rented out to the general public. That means that all reservations are subject to availability and owners, in some cases, were unable to use any of the time they purchased. Further, the owners’ annual common charges jumped approximately 200% in the last ten years – to about $2,000 per ownership interest per year for the smaller units – on top of the upfront purchase costs that ranged from just under $10,000 to over $40,000 per ownership interest. Some frustrated owners have sold their ownership interests back for a mere $1, just to escape the burdens of paying these charges.
In July 2014, pursuant to General Business Law section 354, a provision of New York’s Martin Act that confers broad powers on the Attorney General to investigate and halt fraud, a Manhattan Supreme Court justice barred the Manhattan Club from selling timeshare interests, preventing them from withdrawing money from certain bank accounts, and stopping them from foreclosing on Manhattan Club purchasers during the pendency of the investigation.
For information about how to protect yourself from timeshare, home improvement and vacation scams, click here for the Attorney General’s brochure “Don’t Get Burned: Attorney General’s Guide To Protecting New Yorkers From Summer Scams.”
This case was handled by Louis M. Solomon, Chief of Enforcement in the Real Estate Finance Bureau, with assistance from Assistant Attorneys General Nicholas Minella and Kimberly Ver Ploeg in the Real Estate Finance Bureau, as well as Matthew Woodruff, Senior Enforcement Counsel, Assistant Attorney General Tanya Trakht, and paralegals Natalya Fadeyeva and Pascual Noble in the Investor Protection Bureau with notable contribution by Jonathan Werberg, Senior Data Scientist, Research & Analytics. This case was investigated by former Supervising Investigators Luis Carter and Michael Ward, Supervising Investigator Sylvia Rivera, Investigators Karon Richardson, Elsa Rojas and Former Sr. Investigator Richard Friedman, under the direction of Deputy Chief John McManus and Chief Dominick Zarrella of the Investigations Bureau. Former Assistant Attorneys General Serwat Farooq and Elissa Rossi also assisted on the case. The Real Estate Finance Bureau is led by Bureau Chief Brent Meltzer and overseen by Executive Deputy Attorney General for Economic Justice Manisha M. Sheth.
Jeffrey W.
Finally this issue is moving forward.
jeff_reports wrote:A.G. Schneiderman Announces $6.5 Million Settlement With Midtown Manhattan Timeshare That Scammed PurchasersThe Manhattan Club, Timeshare In Midtown Manhattan, Will Pay Restitution To Hundreds Of Purchasers That Were Misled About Their Ability To Reserve Rooms And Resell Shares
Settlement Is The Largest In Recent History Of The AG’s Real Estate Finance Bureau
Schneiderman Reminds New York Residents To Be Wary Of High-Pressure Sales Traps Utilized By Some Timeshare Companies
NEW YORK – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a $6.5 million settlemnt with the owners and operators of the Manhattan Club, a timeshare building in Midtown Manhattan, over the sponsor’s repeated false promises to potential and current share owners.
The settlement is the largest in recent history for the Attorney General’s Real Estate Finance Bureau. Under the terms of the settlement, the operators of the Manhattan Club, at 200 West 56th Street, acknowledge that they repeatedly misled shareowners about the club’s reservation process, their ability to sell back their shares, and the details of the club’s state-approved offering plan.
“The owners of the Manhattan Club lured thousands of timeshare buyers with false promises and shady sales tactics that violated New York law,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “While timeshares can be legitimate enterprises, scams like this one are common. To avoid becoming a victim, always be wary of high pressure sales tactics.”
The club bills itself as a “unique” “residence-style boutique hotel” that blends “a vacation ownership retreat with a luxury suite hotel” and that offers “a hard-to-find haven in the midst of this active city.” The website appeals to people who “frequently visit New York City to enjoy Broadway theatre, fine dining and shopping, [and] classical performances.”
The owners and operators in this case are T. Park Central LLC, O. Park Central LLC, Park Central Management, LLC, Ian Bruce Eichner, Leslie H. Eichner, Stuart P. Eichner, Scott L. Lager, Hospitality Advisors, LLC, New York Urban Ownership Management, LLC, and Manhattan Club Marketing Group LLC.
In addition to the $6.5 million restitution to eligible timeshare owners, the settlement requires:
The owners and operators to be barred from the timeshare industry The owners and operators will sell their stakes to a third-party purchaser and relinquish management control Remove all sponsor-appointed current officers and directors from their positions as members of the Board of the Timeshare Association. Eligible timeshare owners will be contacted by a Claims Administrator at a later date about disbursement of the restitution.
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) began investigating the Manhattan Club in 2014 after receiving repeated complaints from shareowners who paid tens of thousands of dollars to become Manhattan Club “owners,” but were unable to make reservations due to a claimed lack of available rooms by the hotel’s operators. At the same time, rooms in the Manhattan Club were being rented over the internet to the general public, in violation of the timeshare’s offering plan.
In Spring 2014, OAG sent undercover investigators to record the Manhattan Club’s “Vacation Ownership Experience” sales presentation. Investigators found evidence indicating that the Manhattan Club’s sales tactics amounted to a bait-and-switch scheme.
Prospective purchasers were baited by a relentless sales pitch that included a number of misleading promises, including that ownership in the Manhattan Club is “better than money in the bank.” Prospective buyers were also told that the club does not rent rooms to the general public, that reservations were easy to make, and that few restrictions apply to reservations by owners.
But these promises were false. For example, contrary to the club’s explicit promises in its offering plan, room availability to owners was greatly limited because rooms were being rented out to the general public. That means that all reservations are subject to availability and owners, in some cases, were unable to use any of the time they purchased. Further, the owners’ annual common charges jumped approximately 200% in the last ten years – to about $2,000 per ownership interest per year for the smaller units – on top of the upfront purchase costs that ranged from just under $10,000 to over $40,000 per ownership interest. Some frustrated owners have sold their ownership interests back for a mere $1, just to escape the burdens of paying these charges.
In July 2014, pursuant to General Business Law section 354, a provision of New York’s Martin Act that confers broad powers on the Attorney General to investigate and halt fraud, a Manhattan Supreme Court justice barred the Manhattan Club from selling timeshare interests, preventing them from withdrawing money from certain bank accounts, and stopping them from foreclosing on Manhattan Club purchasers during the pendency of the investigation.
For information about how to protect yourself from timeshare, home improvement and vacation scams, click here for the Attorney General’s brochure “Don’t Get Burned: Attorney General’s Guide To Protecting New Yorkers From Summer Scams.”
This case was handled by Louis M. Solomon, Chief of Enforcement in the Real Estate Finance Bureau, with assistance from Assistant Attorneys General Nicholas Minella and Kimberly Ver Ploeg in the Real Estate Finance Bureau, as well as Matthew Woodruff, Senior Enforcement Counsel, Assistant Attorney General Tanya Trakht, and paralegals Natalya Fadeyeva and Pascual Noble in the Investor Protection Bureau with notable contribution by Jonathan Werberg, Senior Data Scientist, Research & Analytics. This case was investigated by former Supervising Investigators Luis Carter and Michael Ward, Supervising Investigator Sylvia Rivera, Investigators Karon Richardson, Elsa Rojas and Former Sr. Investigator Richard Friedman, under the direction of Deputy Chief John McManus and Chief Dominick Zarrella of the Investigations Bureau. Former Assistant Attorneys General Serwat Farooq and Elissa Rossi also assisted on the case. The Real Estate Finance Bureau is led by Bureau Chief Brent Meltzer and overseen by Executive Deputy Attorney General for Economic Justice Manisha M. Sheth.
Kevin O.
Last edited by kevin631 on Aug 17, 2017 08:23 PM
It has been a long three plus years of waiting and hoping for resolution.
jeff_reports wrote:Hello again to all TMC owners.Want to update you all, once again, that there is NO class action lawsuit pending against the club. All talk and posts on this forum about a class action lawsuit are wish fulfillment, not based on any facts that RedWeek is aware of.
Kevin O.
Last edited by kevin631 on Aug 17, 2017 08:33 PM
Glad the New York newspapers have reported on this.
jeff_reports wrote:Hello, please send name and phone number of your lawyer to me: jeff@redweek.comWould like to verify and amplify her comments about settlement. Since none of the major legal issues in this investigation have been resolved, a settlement would be surprising. But after 3 years, owners have waiting long enough for a resolution of this case.
Kevin O.
Last edited by kevin631 on Aug 17, 2017 08:29 PM
This is amazing news!!! Please let us know how this is going to shake down. My question is can we now sell it back to TMC?? I don't have any idea how they will divide up this money but my hope is we could sell it back for what we paid. That would be great!!
Karen M.
Kevin, good questions. I contacted an attorney Tuesday who supposedly knew about settlement talks, but when asked for details, she said she knew nothing directly and was not involved. I also contacted the AG's office to double-check but got no information. I also checked the last pleading from the court file, from July 11, which said that a Sept. 15 hearing was being postponed "because of ongoing settlement discussions." This was not the first time that the idea of "settlement talks" had been used to justify postponing a hearing. So I posted Tuesday what I knew at the time, which was that there was no confirmation of pending settlement talks. Today, when I contacted the AG's office again, I learned of their announcement. So I posted the new information and deleted the prior post since it was no longer relevant. Hope that sheds light on how I work. Providing accurate and timely information is the only thing that counts. If you have any other issues, feel free to contact me directly at 310-801-3479.
Jeffrey W.
Thank you.
jeff_reports wrote:Kevin, good questions. I contacted an attorney Tuesday who supposedly knew about settlement talks, but when asked for details, she said she knew nothing directly and was not involved. I also contacted the AG's office to double-check but got no information. I also checked the last pleading from the court file, from July 11, which said that a Sept. 15 hearing was being postponed "because of ongoing settlement discussions." This was not the first time that the idea of "settlement talks" had been used to justify postponing a hearing. So I posted Tuesday what I knew at the time, which was that there was no confirmation of pending settlement talks. Today, when I contacted the AG's office again, I learned of their announcement. So I posted the new information and deleted the prior post since it was no longer relevant. Hope that sheds light on how I work. Providing accurate and timely information is the only thing that counts. If you have any other issues, feel free to contact me directly at 310-801-3479.
Kevin O.
Last edited by kevin631 on Aug 17, 2017 08:11 PM
kevin631 wrote:Jeff@Redweek- You and the information you posted was incorrect.An settlement with the Manhattan Club was announced today. I question how you and Redweek receive your uninformed and incorrect information and can post it as fact?jeff_reports wrote:Hello again to all TMC owners.Want to update you all, once again, that there is NO class action lawsuit pending against the club. All talk and posts on this forum about a class action lawsuit are wish fulfillment, not based on any facts that RedWeek is aware of.
JESUS! Kevin!!!! So redweek was 'wrong' by a day or two?? And you're giving Jeff this kind of crap after he faithfully kept us informed for the past 4 years??? REALLY? - and Redweek hosting this platform??? You're being ridiculous.
Dennis C.
