Manhattan Club Lawsuit

I have the advantage of living in another country. It is a general principle that legal papers like subpoenas cannot be served outside the jurisdiction in which they were issued. I have not paid any fees since Jan, 2020, and there has been some huffing and puffing about collection proceedings, but even if they wanted to commence them, and I suspect they won't, Each time I'm contacted I ask "where is my buy-back offer?" and say very firmly, that they will not get any more money from me. If I set foot in the USA, subpoenas could be served while I am there, but much as I loved spending time in New York, I have no interest in returning there any time soon.

I would also appreciate some more information about what was found by Holiday Inn that made them change their minds. I think this would be important for us to know.

What makes you think any of that would be public information?

Did Mr. Zimmerman ever submit "a much lengthier amended complaint that provides the recitation of details Judge Woods has requested"

sueo79 wrote:

Mr Z asked me to post this. Sunday 10/3/21

TMC Case Update

This past week, U.S. District Court Judge Woods dismissed the complaint we filed against the Eichners and BlueGreen defendants WITHOUT PREJUDICE meaning that it can be amended and refiled in federal court, which we will do.

In dismissing the complaint, Judge Woods did not rule on the substantive merits of any of our allegations, but rather ruled solely on the very narrow, procedural basis that we supposedly failed to plead the allegations of a pattern of fraud and damages suffered by each plaintiff with sufficient detail to give rise to a justiciable federal RICO claim that would provide a basis for federal court jurisdiction. Since all of the other claims asserted in our complaint, e.g., breach of contract, fraud, etc., were based on state law which can be litigated in New York State court, no basis exists for federal jurisdiction over our suit absent a justiciable RICO claim. Judge Woods did not consider any of our state claims.

With respect to the federal RICO claim, Judge Woods ruled that the references to and incorporation in our complaint of the admissions made by the Eichner defendants in the Assurance of Discontinuance (“AOD”) of the wrongful actions they committed against the plaintiffs and other TMC members were insufficient to provide a basis for federal court jurisdiction, and that instead we had to detail the individual allegations of fraud and damages suffered by each plaintiff with specificity, even though these are largely the same for all plaintiffs.

We respectfully disagree with Judge Wood’s ruling and believe that the allegations in the complaint were sufficiently pled to sustain a federal RICO claim, detailing both the nature of the criminal enterprise and the specific frauds that establish the pattern of the defendants’ racketeering activity. TMC, T Park, O. Park, etc., are pawns of the Eichners, and the AOD admits the criminality of the defendants’ RICO “enterprise”.

Our pleading did not detail the individual frauds suffered by each plaintiff because (a) there is legal precedent that permits “group pleading” in RICO allegations where, as in this case, the frauds suffered by the members of the group are common in design and execution, and (b) the AOD admitted the existence and nature of the frauds the defendants committed.

The complaint did more than “dress up state claims for common law fraud and breach of contract as violations of [federal] civil RICO statute” as Judge Woods claims, but rather detailed a pattern of frauds committed in interstate commerce that affected over 14,000 timeshare purchasers and is exactly the kind of case that the federal RICO statute was designed to address. The statute was an attempt by Congress to provide federal jurisdiction over massive patterns of fraudulent activity, including those predicated on underlying violations of state law as in our case.

The dismissal WITHOUT PREJUDICE allows us to continue to pursue this case, and to submit a much lengthier amended complaint that provides the recitation of details Judge Woods has requested. Finally, claims by the real estate industry press such as the Real Deal that Judge Woods decided the substantive merits of this case in favor of Ian Bruce Eicher and his cronies misrepresents the court's ruling. All Judge Woods decided is that he did not want this matter on his docket.

Jean-Marc Zimmerman Zimmerman Law Group 233 Watchung Fork Westfield, NJ 07090 E: jmz@zimllp.com

Steven M. Hoffberg Hoffberg & Associates 29 Buckout Road West Harrison, NY 10604 E: steve@hoffberglaw.com

Agree

Did they send your account to collections? Have you checked your credit report. I am in the process of dealing with them through letters. Our Time share has been paid for years and just basically said they could have it back with a letter stating I do not owe anymore in Maintenance fees or taxes.

I received a voicemail threatening to send the account to collections. We own two units and they sent paperwork for one of them to buy it back for $100 with no further payments required. We sent the papars in but have not received anything back. I asked them to buy back the second unit but they said "not now."

How did you make this happen? Please share

Cliff Can I contact you about how you handled this?

I got a notice to pay, in the mail, from a collection agency, named Conrad Credit..

Have others received notices from collection agencies?

Anyone out there?

We did not.

In early September of 2021 I informed TMC financial services dept. that I would not be paying my maintenance fee this year and would like to take the buyback option. I was told, and I quote "If you is no longer interested in keeping the property, as it is deeded ownership, you do have the right to sell/transfer the ownership. This can be done by posting the unit online or in the newspaper or you can use a Real Estate Agent or broker. We don’t offer a buy-back program. Please keep in mind that you are still responsible for your maintenance fees and taxes until the property is sold or transferred".

Then in mid-September of 2021 I received an email from The Manhattan Club Timeshare Association offering me two options. OPTION ONE (1) – RELINQUISH OWNERSHIP and OPTION TWO (2) – RETURN TO OWNER IN GOOD STANDING STATUS, by paying my fee. I chose option 1 and they sent me the paperwork which I returned in early October 2021.

Today, after 10 months of no contact with them, I received in the mail my $100 check from TMC. I am not happy to lose what I was sold as a valuable NYC property, but I take comfort in knowing that I still have the approximately $7,000 in my bank account by not paying my fee for the last two years and that amount will continue to grow for years to come (at least that is what I tell myself to ease the pain),

Good luck to all you TMC owners whatever you decide to do.

I did get a notice from Conrad Credit Corporation, in Calif, that I am in arrears, $10K (2yr of MFs). Several options were given as to how to proceed, and a short deadline (Sept 8) to respond. I decided to stop paying because the fees became excessive. Any suggestions how I should respond? Have been following this forum for years, but this is my first post. Thanks, Lizz

I have been on the buyback list for over a year I told them that I can no longer afford it. They told me everything was paid up thru 2023. I just received a letter telling me about taxes and I simply told them that I will not be able to pay this. I am now waiting to hear back from them. My unit is also paid off for 10000 dollars. Just volunteering of what I am going through

I did not receive a formal notification from them but I did see a Collections action on my Experian credit report from Conrad Credit Corp. These guys are unbelieveable.

Did you have a mortgage on your unit?

IGNORE

Yes, I received the dunning letter from Conrad. Shortly after I checked my credit report and it went down 100 points ! I sent them a dispute letter which they ignored. I do not know who they are nor have I ever done business with them.

I stopped paying my maintenance fee's several years ago. They fee's became unrealistic. Plus, we could never book the times we wanted.

I assume by reading this, that you were able to get out on the $100 buy back, and the paperwork took forever to get. However, you KNOW you're out of the unit? My parents somehow ended up with 7 units or points for 7 units from Blue Green. I am trying to help them get OUT so I don't see them when they pass.

So, bottom line, does this $100 sell back scheme really work, and do we contact the TMC directly or did you all go through a company like Blue Green to get them? They have switched resorts multiple times and ended up with this crap show apparently. I admit, I don't understand it all, but I understand the work perpetuity!

deborahs528 wrote:

kurtj22 wrote:

Ok I’m about to relinquish my ownership for 100. Is there anybody on this site who says this is a bad move. Lately there has been little from the one time vocal contingent which argued against. Is their still hope, especially from most recent suit ( a year or so ago) which held out hope. Thanks

As I have always maintained, it is a very personal and individual decision. Some people want to continue to fight. They don’t want to lose their investment and allow Eichner and his cronies to continue to get away with what they have. I can understand their point of view. I, on the other hand, had inherited 2 time shares, could not afford skyrocketing maintenance fees, did not want potential inheritance issues lasting in perpetuity and I didn't want to be tied down to going to NYC every year for two weeks. In addition, I didn't want to throw good money after bad by getting involved in lengthy lawsuit with no guarantee of a timely and satisfactory outcome. We already had suffered through a 4 year investigation with an additional 3 years waiting for them to dole out a pittance if any restitution and Eichner still getting away with fraud.