We have pretty much decided that Small Claims Court is, well, too small…for all of our claims we keep uncovering at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.
Based on our research, we are now aggressively pursuing either one and probably two class-action lawsuits against GGRC, RML, and individuals who we believe have been guilty of either 
gross negligence and/or fraud having to do with their involvement with the management and operation of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort. We will probably also name Hickman and Company, PC, the accounting firm that has “audited” the GGRC and RML financial statements for the past several years.
Good News
The good news is that if we can prove there was gross negligence and/or fraud involved, then those who committed the negligence and/or fraud can be held individually liable – and we can get our monies from them personally – instead of GGRC. And, that applies to both current AND past members of the Board.
More good news is that it appears that I can initiate the class-action lawsuit(s) by myself – and others can opt-in later if they want to share in the award.
The other good news about class-action lawsuits is that it appears that you can find lots of high-powered attorneys who will handle the case strictly on a contingency basis – which means it will cost little or nothing to bring suit and FINALLY start solving all the massive problems here at Deer Ridge.
As soon as the lawsuit(s) is (are) filed, specific motions will be immediately filed for significant production of documents, interrogatories requiring completion by all Board members, past and present, employees and managers of GGRC and RML – finally getting us the data that the Board is trying so hard to block. Once we have those documents, we expect to uncover TONS of additional claims.
Sometime, you have to pay for out of pocket costs like filing fees, court reporters for depositions, etc…so it may take $1,000 to $2,000 for these – other times, even these costs are covered by the contingency fee. Sometimes, this even includes the forensic accounting costs – for having an independent accounting firm audit ALL the books and records under the assumption that there is malfeasance to uncover.
Why TWO Class-Action Suits?
Right now, we are looking at having two separate class-action suits:
- One lawsuit just for 1:1 Unit owners since we have been most royally ripped off by the Board and Joe Thomas not abiding by the Master Deed Percentages. This one will include everyone who currently owns a 1-1 Unit at Deer Ridge – 30 total units representing 36% of all units at Deer Ridge. The other interesting part is that we intend on seeking out all the PAST owners of 1-1 units too – since they have been wrongly overcharged by the actions of the Board. This will have the effect of a larger class and more aggregate awards by the Court. We figure we have already been ripped off to the tune of over $10,000 – with that number continuing to go up every month. If all current 1-1 owners average the same level of rip-off, that adds up to over $300,000 plus damages, plus interest, plus attorney fees (which we should get just about for free – whether we win or not.) The amount of claims of all the past owners will depend on how many we find – though once we get the turnover order for all documents, we should be able to quickly identify a lot of these folks. Bottomline: all of our co-owners at Deer Ridge who have been GROSSLY overcharged deserve to get their money back – and then some. If you want to join in on the suit and the award, please email me at litigation@deerridgeowners.com
- The other class-action we intend to file at the same time will be brought on behalf of ALL owners at Deer Ridge, both past and present, for all those overcharges, for all that interference on rights to documents, for all costs related to the Board starting and continuing to fund RML, etc. Much more on this subject – and all it will include on an upcoming, more comprehensive post on this subject in the next few days. If you want to join in on the suit and the award, please email me at litigation@deerridgeowners.com
“I’m Mad As Hell – And I’m Not Going To Take It Any More!”
So said soon-to-be-fired, news anchor Howard Beale in the 1976 movie, Network.
We are doing all we can to start interviewing class-action attorneys over the next two weeks so that we can expedite getting these lawsuits filed ASAP. I want to do all that I can to have these lawsuits in place prior to the next Board meeting in November – so that the Board members, while they are here for the meeting can have their individual depositions taken for these lawsuits.
Pretty efficient, huh?
I don’t know about you – but I am tired of getting the run around from Joe Thomas, Luther Parker and the Board – and I am going to do something about it – to solve the problems for us all – once and for all!
Class-Action Lawsuits
LOTS more on this in the next few days…meanwhile, you all might find the following of interest. This is an article on class-action suits I found that gives an excellent overview of the why and wherefore:
Class action lawsuits permit one or more plaintiffs to file and prosecute a lawsuit on behalf of a larger group. The class members have suffered the same wrong at the hands of the defendant or defendants but are too numerous for the court to adequately manage if each were required to be named plaintiffs.
Class action lawsuits do more than simply address the situation of too many plaintiffs to litigate a case manageably; the justifications that led to the development of the class action include the protection of the defendant from inconsistent obligations, the protection of the interests of absentees, the provision of a convenient and economical means for disposing of similar lawsuits and the facilitation of the spreading of litigation costs among numerous litigants with similar claims. Moreover, it saves the resources of both the courts and the parties by permitting an issue potentially affecting every class member to be litigated in an economical fashion.
To proceed as a class action, district courts must make the following findings: (1) The number of class members renders it impracticable to join them in the action, (2) the class members’ claims share common questions of law or fact, (3) the claims or defenses of the proposed class representatives are typical of those for the rest of the class, and (4) the proposed class representatives will adequately protect the interests of the entire class.
Furthermore, in addition to the numerosity, commonality, typicality and adequacy of representation requirements, the district court must make at least one of the following findings: (1) Requiring separate actions by or against the class members would create the risk of inconsistent rulings, or a ruling with respect to individual class members may be dispositive of other class member claims, thereby substantially impairing or impeding their ability to protect their interests; (2) the party against whom the class seeks relief has acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class so that injunctive or declaratory relief as to the entire class would be appropriate; or (3) common questions of law or fact common predominate over class-member–specific questions, and that proceeding by way of class action would be superior to other available methods for resolving the dispute.
Last Update: Oct. 2, 2008
The content on this page was developed in partnership with the Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School.
from: http://public.getlegal.com/legal-info-center/class-action-lawsuits
PS: If you would like to contribute to the Litigation Fund, please click the Donate Icon in the right column. These funds will be used for the out of pocket costs related to filing these suits as well as any legal fees, court costs, etc. that we may have to pay. Thanks for your support!
* Sound bite from “National Treasure” © 2004, Walt Disney Pictures.
Tags: Board of Directors, class-action, HOA lawsuit, Luther Parker, lawsuit, Joe Thomas, past board members, HOA, class-action lawsuit
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