Manhattan Club Lawsuit

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Regards, Hank

Time for a re-set for all owners on this forum.

There is NO pending class action lawsuit. There are way too many legal hurdles to overcome to justify another class action.

However, a new group of attorneys with major litigation experience are considering new legal action that could provide some relief for owners.

Beyond that, the next big moment in TMC history, beyond the Schneiderman resignation, is the Aug. 9 board meeting. This is where owners can speak their mind, ask questions about the AG settlement, raise concerns about the continued involvement of Eichner affiliates in aftermath of the settlement, ask questions about number of defaults at club and, most importantly, about status of new buyer/owner who will take over management and replace Eichner associates on the board. Most owners who contact RedWeek are furious that AOD settlement from New York AG allows Eichner group to stay in charge of club despite acknowledgement of all issues in settlement agreement.

jeff_reports wrote:

Time for a re-set for all owners on this forum.

There is NO pending class action lawsuit. There are way too many legal hurdles to overcome to justify another class action.

However, a new group of attorneys with major litigation experience are considering new legal action that could provide some relief for owners.

Beyond that, the next big moment in TMC history, beyond the Schneiderman resignation, is the Aug. 9 board meeting. This is where owners can speak their mind, ask questions about the AG settlement, raise concerns about the continued involvement of Eichner affiliates in aftermath of the settlement, ask questions about number of defaults at club and, most importantly, about status of new buyer/owner who will take over management and replace Eichner associates on the board. Most owners who contact RedWeek are furious that AOD settlement from New York AG allows Eichner group to stay in charge of club despite acknowledgement of all issues in settlement agreement.

Well, who is a new group of attorneys with major litigation experience that is considering new legal action that could provide some relief for owners? When we stop talking in secret? In regard to a board meeting where owners can speak their mind and ask questions I have attended one of such meetings. Eihners did not show up, owners were shut down, and the manager Sal Reale (his is still there) demonstrated the 1000+-pages OP book as a Bible for for TMC.

via numerous TMC meeting experiences, the reality is that owners are usually muffled (if allowed to speak at all). that is not an option. we need a court-appointed referee at any TMC meeting where owners are "invited" and are able to present their ideas that will be heard and acted upon. in essence, this has not occurred nor is it expected to magically happen simply because of a CURRENTLY UNINFORCED (and nonsensical) "SETTLEMENT".

let's be realistic: this case needs to be reopened and litigated again by the newly-appointed acting NYS ATTORNEY GENERAL after she carefully reviews what has taken place by the former, displaced attorney general. i believe she will see through this so-called "settlement" and determine that it is definitely not in the interest of us defrauded, scammed and lied to TMC timeshare owners. she needs to carefully study the undercover activity at TMC SALES OFFICE that the former attorney general instigated. that seems to be the crux of evidence (along with our numerous letters and requested surveys) against eichner and cohorts, a major incriminating discovery that needs further court review and new litigation.

jeff_reports wrote:

Time for a re-set for all owners on this forum.

There is NO pending class action lawsuit. There are way too many legal hurdles to overcome to justify another class action.

However, a new group of attorneys with major litigation experience are considering new legal action that could provide some relief for owners.

Beyond that, the next big moment in TMC history, beyond the Schneiderman resignation, is the Aug. 9 board meeting. This is where owners can speak their mind, ask questions about the AG settlement, raise concerns about the continued involvement of Eichner affiliates in aftermath of the settlement, ask questions about number of defaults at club and, most importantly, about status of new buyer/owner who will take over management and replace Eichner associates on the board. Most owners who contact RedWeek are furious that AOD settlement from New York AG allows Eichner group to stay in charge of club despite acknowledgement of all issues in settlement agreement.

. I am following your messages all the time. I agree with Chris, we need to reopen the case with the new AG, and the only way to do this in my mind is writing a request . If all of us start right now writing such a request, I wonder if she is not obligated to act . Please comment. A big thank you to all of you. Brigitte

Thanks to all for your updates and guidance on our Manhattan Club timeshare interests. I'm a bit out the loop. I have a few questions that I hoped would be answered in the August 17, 2017 settlement statement, but unfortunately not. If anyone can offer any understanding of the following questions, I would be very grateful:

First, my ex-wife and I bought a 2 bedroom share in 2010(financed through the MHC). It was marketed to us with the belief I could make a weekday reservation when in NYC on business. (obviously, not the case). Being unable to secure a reasonable reservation for 5 years, I suspected it was a fraudulent deal, so stopped paying all notes, fees and expenses completely in 2015.

Question:

1) Based on the settlement findings, are there other owners like me who have no intention of resuming payments of any sort to the MC? Are there others who plan to "walk away" from this transaction that was fraudulently marketed? If so, has anyone pursued this strategy? Or do we have to wait for the acting or new attorney general to reopen this case against the GP?

2). I've talked to two different NY lawyers to obtain counsel on these questions, and they have indicated there's nothing I can do at this point. Until the court appoints a new GP to the MC, we are all in limbo. Is that what other owners in default understand?

3). Just to clarify, can any MC owner who owns shares free and clear, sell their shares? It's my understanding that there isn't a current market for shares?

Thanks very much for any help or guidance. Much appreciated. If anyone would like to contact me with further info, I'd welcome it.

Massie Meredith c)804-240-2160; massiemeredith4@gmail.com

Hi Massie,

As long as you owe money, either on the purchase or on maintenance fees, your creditor has the right to pursue payment. They might not be doing so because the optics would be terrible, but they have not given up the right to do so. You cannot "walk away" with certainty unless the creditor releases you. Otherwise, you're just waiting for the other shoe to drop. As far as selling goes, there are precious few interested buyers at any price; and I also suspect that maintenance fees would need to be up-to--date and the $1000 transfer fee paid before any transfer could take place.

IMHO, best to wait and see.

What has happened with the class action lawsuit that was proposed several months ago - the one where we were to submit information to the attorney and fill out the questionnaire? Is that going anywhere or did the attorney decide not to go forward with a class action suit?

When a new buyer for TMC is found and the deal is done, does anyone think that he/she/they will forgive the maintenance payments not made? They are an asset and there will be attempts to collect. Why would any new owner forgive your debt because "you were treated unfairly." (I'm tired of hearing that phrase these days every time I turn on the news.) Perhaps the larger question is, how will attempts to collect affect credit scores.

nathanz2 wrote:

Hi Massie,

As long as you owe money, either on the purchase or on maintenance fees, your creditor has the right to pursue payment. They might not be doing so because the optics would be terrible, but they have not given up the right to do so. You cannot "walk away" with certainty unless the creditor releases you. Otherwise, you're just waiting for the other shoe to drop. As far as selling goes, there are precious few interested buyers at any price; and I also suspect that maintenance fees would need to be up-to--date and the $1000 transfer fee paid before any transfer could take place.

IMHO, best to wait and see.

TULIPBLOSSOM: I did post this prior but Mr Zimmerman(lawyer at JMZ@zimllp.com) is sifting through many many survey responses, emails and documents related to TMC - ie...the over 1000 page bylaws and contracts, settlement, and research on litigation such as this(including past legal actions that went nowhere). This is going to take time. It's not a class action suit - just one lawyer and his team trying to sift through everything at this point. PS.... I am in no way related or professionally or personally gain from any of his business or future actions. I am simply an owner myself, me and another owner found him - he seemed interested , and is still in process of determining actions. Survey was just step one for him to determine where people stood - as some want to stay and have maintenance credits, others may want out, other may seek damage - everyone is different in their needs, and some of us are current with maintenance, and some stopped paying years ago.

With all the current NYAG issues - it may get very complicated. Perhaps everyone contact acting NYAG Ms Underwood and demand this case be re opened and current settlement re-negotiated. Barbara Underwood , Acting NYAG, New York Attorney General Office, 120 Broadway, 23rd floor, NY NY 10271, 212-416-6240

I was gathering information for him and didn't know whether I should forward it to him or not. I don;t recall if I have his snail mail address - do you have it?

I would email him (his email is listed in my previous reply).....and ask him where to send documents. thanks.

Once again--How much are you folks willing to put up front to get a lawsuit started??

I e-mailed him 3 times; 3c times he answered but never sent me a questionnaire or anything else. Is he for real?

bruceg - email him again today.... (sorry for repeats but with hundreds of emails and surveys ...he may have missed you or perhaps it went to your SPAM folder?? ). I will ask him to look for an email today with name BRUCE - in subject, please say "NEED SURVEY". JMZ@zimllp.com. hundreds of people got the survey and have replied already so YES, he is for real. More information is coming soon. (and for anyone who is wondering, I am simply an owner myself, found this attorney - and looking for help - wanting the best for all of us as owners and direction on what we can do to make things better. that is all) Sue.

Your update is greatly appreciated. Brigitte

Everybody should remember that class action lawsuits are financed by the law firm who convinces a court to allow a case for a defined class to proceed. They are paid first should the case result in a monetary award.

After bearing the costs of many thousands of hours at hundreds of dollars per hour, settlements to the class, distributed to all qualified in the class typically ends up being a few dollars or cents. The NYSAG worked their case for 3-4 years.

Any law firm assessing the risks involved in fighting a billionaire known for protracted litigation, including the history and complexity of this TMC case will be very cautious in investing in such a case.

sueo79 wrote:

bruceg - email him again today.... (sorry for repeats but with hundreds of emails and surveys ...he may have missed you or perhaps it went to your SPAM folder?? ). I will ask him to look for an email today with name BRUCE - in subject, please say "NEED SURVEY". JMZ@zimllp.com. hundreds of people got the survey and have replied already so YES, he is for real. More information is coming soon. (and for anyone who is wondering, I am simply an owner myself, found this attorney - and looking for help - wanting the best for all of us as owners and direction on what we can do to make things better. that is all) Sue.

dennis,

your comments lead to a firm decision: have the acting/or new (depending on the timeframe) NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL reopen the litigation: schneideman vs TMC/EICHNER, ET AL. schneiderman's past proofs and findings should have led to a criminal conviction and the retribution consequences attached to this conviction. eichner committed fraud both in his sales presentations and via advertising mail (read mail fraud, a federal offence) to entice prospective buyers to attend the lie-ridden sales pitches. your assessment of the possibility of a class action lawsuit is satisfactory and conclusive to the extent that it definitely should not be considered due the to the cost factors. eichner should be in jail and his assets distributed to TMC owners who were financially upended and defrauded.

dennisc283 wrote:

Everybody should remember that class action lawsuits are financed by the law firm who convinces a court to allow a case for a defined class to proceed. They are paid first should the case result in a monetary award.

After bearing the costs of many thousands of hours at hundreds of dollars per hour, settlements to the class, distributed to all qualified in the class typically ends up being a few dollars or cents. The NYSAG worked their case for 3-4 years.

Any law firm assessing the risks involved in fighting a billionaire known for protracted litigation, including the history and complexity of this TMC case will be very cautious in investing in such a case.

sueo79 wrote:

bruceg - email him again today.... (sorry for repeats but with hundreds of emails and surveys ...he may have missed you or perhaps it went to your SPAM folder?? ). I will ask him to look for an email today with name BRUCE - in subject, please say "NEED SURVEY". JMZ@zimllp.com. hundreds of people got the survey and have replied already so YES, he is for real. More information is coming soon. (and for anyone who is wondering, I am simply an owner myself, found this attorney - and looking for help - wanting the best for all of us as owners and direction on what we can do to make things better. that is all) Sue.

There's one major problem with your logic Chris. The State of NY and Eichner signed the settlement agreement. Under what grounds does the NYAG re-open it? The lead attorney for the NYAG resigned under the threat of potential wrong doing. To the best of my knowledge he hasn't been convicted of doing anything wrong. There have been allegations in the media of bad personal behavior. I'm not aware of any proof that Schneiderman didn't do his job. Not to be political but our legal system isn't set up for do-overs. If you could re-open the case the State would be risking that Eichner would be found of lessor violations. Right now we have a settlement in place that forces Eichner out of control and precludes him from doing more timeshare business in the state. IMHO we should be building on the findings the NYAG left us and not backtracking.

Re law suits, fraud and criminal acts.

The AG used the Martin Act to investigate The Manhattan Club as most of you know. I have included a link a PDF document below where you can read to your heart's content about the Martin Act. In addition to describing conditions under which the AG can reopen a case and other detail, an important point is that the Martin Act provides both both Civil and Criminal prosecution per below (copied from the aforementioned PDF). It is entirely possible that the settlement in toto include no criminal prosecution.

ENFORCEMENT POWERS The Martin Act vests the attorney general with wide-ranging enforcement powers. The attorney general may, where appropriate, commence: „„ Investigations (either confidential or public) into fraudulent practices (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law §§ 352, 354-55). „„ Civil proceedings for injunctive relief or restitution (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 353). „„ Criminal prosecutions (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 358).

John

Copy and past this link

https://eur04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jonesday.com%2Ffiles%2FPublication%2Fcc6cfc9e-1517-4707-958d-8ea80d2042c2%2FPresentation%2FPublicationAttachment%2F9be275fc-e882-499c-9045-9a429519ab82%2FFebMar15_%2520NYSupplement_MartinActFeature.pdf&data=02%7C01%7C%7C4faf321c81b24a50c09f08d5be5b1476%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636624220745306911&sdata=cR2qYBI0p50gTuKClpT0jMeC%2BE4Rns2qpZOp6uszuBw%3D&reserved=0

roberts714 wrote:

There's one major problem with your logic Chris. The State of NY and Eichner signed the settlement agreement. Under what grounds does the NYAG re-open it? The lead attorney for the NYAG resigned under the threat of potential wrong doing. To the best of my knowledge he hasn't been convicted of doing anything wrong. There have been allegations in the media of bad personal behavior. I'm not aware of any proof that Schneiderman didn't do his job. Not to be political but our legal system isn't set up for do-overs. If you could re-open the case the State would be risking that Eichner would be found of lessor violations. Right now we have a settlement in place that forces Eichner out of control and precludes him from doing more timeshare business in the state. IMHO we should be building on the findings the NYAG left us and not backtracking.