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Re: Manhattan Club Lawsuit (by Craig R.):

I have been following this forum for months, and I became an "owner" many years ago by purchasing a resale through the Redweek classifieds.

I know this post is premature, but I want to put a stake in the ground before the August meetings that I cannot attend (I live in Seattle).

I am no attorney, but I did read the agreements before signing, and the thing that concerned me most was the right of the developer to control the Board.

I was so concerned that I asked to talk to someone about this, and whoever I talked to ( I think it was a salesman) assured me that the developer would control the Board until a sufficient number of timeshares were sold, and then the developer would have to turn over control.

Obviously, he lied to me.

However, my reason for writing this note has more to do with what I expect will happen, and what I would like to see as a settlement. I believe that the Attorney General would be able to win a significant settlement in court, although I think it would be hard to prove a criminal conspiracy case involving the owners because I think they've had legal advisers guiding them from the beginning.

I also think this will be settled out of court. If I have this right, the sellers will want this settled, and the Attorney General will see a political benefit getting a good solution quickly. Of course this is all speculation on my part -- I have no facts, only theory.

In any event, what I would like to see in a settlement is the following:

1.The timeshare owners have the right to "put" their share back to the sellers at the price they paid plus transfer costs for a period of 3 years.

2.The control of the Board transfers to a Timeshare Owner Association, and the entire operation, especially the management contract, be subject to the TOA oversight.

3.The rent charged by the property owner (the same as the developer) be locked in for 7 years, and then the rent charged be indexed to a group of "similar properties" in Manhattan.

I've read the posts on this sight highlighting what in my opinion is criminal behavior, and I truly hope I've underestimated the Attorney General's leverage, but I am more interested in what happens in the future.