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Re: Manhattan Club Lawsuit (by Chris V.):

jeff_reports wrote:

As someone who talks to the AG's office, Eichner's reps, MC owners who contribute to this forum, and to people in the timeshare business, I would like to offer the following observations about some of the current topics dominating this forum. 1. The Manhattan Club is the only entity that possesses a full list of all owners. Other timeshare websites, such as sellmytimeshare.now, are NOT in the business of releasing their client lists, and won't do it. That site claims to have generated 20,040 offers for MC listings --- but offers are not owners, so don't hang on to that number as meaningful. 2. The AG's office does not feel ANY obligation to inform all owners about the investigation; nor do they publish or release weekly updates on cases. This is even more true when they are negotiating with the parties they are investigating, which is no doubt what's happening between the AG's attorneys and the attorneys representing Eichner and the club. The AG does not consider it a public obligation or responsibility to notify owners. They consider this a nuisance, so they are not going to do it. 3. The AG's office will announce what it wants, when it wants, and that's it. The AG is a law enforcement agency that is also very political. This means, in practice, they don't take on cases they think they're going to lose. In general, law enforcement agencies pursue cases that they expect to win. 4. Some MC owners put a lot of emphasis (way too much, in my opinion) on how much they think Eichner's attorneys are getting paid to defend the MC, and on how poorly paid the AG's attorneys must be. These owners are prolonging a stereotype that, in many cases, falls apart. Their assumption is that higher-paid attorneys are better and connected to the judges, and, as a result, always win. Here's my experience. Attorneys for agencies like the AG are cutting their teeth on cases like this. Money's not the issue for them. They're not being paid by the billable hour. They're in it to win, because there is no monetary payoff --- which makes them perhaps much more powerful than the attorneys who bill Eichner by the minute for even thinking about this case. Eichner's attorneys and PR people get paid regardless of outcome. 5. The most compelling aspects of the AG's case are all on tape, and seemingly impossible to rebut or defend. The AG sent undercover investigators into the club earlier this year to go through sales presentations. The investigators videotaped everything. Those tapes were presented to the NY court as supporting material for the court order barring new sales and foreclosures. There is no way, in my experience, that the club or Eichner's attorneys can offer any explanation or denial to the courts that will undo the damage caused by the statements of the MC sales people who were caught on tape. These tapes are the Watergate Tapes for the Manhattan Club.

hi jeff, fyi re "The AG does not consider it a public obligation or responsibility to notify owners. They consider this a nuisance, so they are not going to do it. 3. The AG's office will announce what it wants, when it wants, and that's it. The AG is a law enforcement agency that is also very political." the AG puts out a weekly (or at least regular) email newsletter from his office highlighting several of the cases he's involved with. for the most part, these cases are often more universal than our relatively small case in terms of how many NEW YORKERS it effects. (eg, the MC sells worldwide, so owners are represented by that fact; therefore many are not NEW YORKERS; real estate=location, location, location......politics=vote, votes, votes. the math speaks for itself.) i think my point is evident. yes, the AG wants to win cases he initiates. winning the MC case won't garner significant votes. "The AG's office will announce what it wants, when it wants, and that's it."......to the extent of weighing the political benefits of disseminating selective legislative information and progress concerning his law suits. please correct any of my assumptions.

keep in touch. chris volpe cfox863@gmail.com