I recommend that you don’t send your ballot or your proxy for the upcoming “Annual Meeting” or board elections – nor even attend the “Annual Meeting!”
On the advice of my attorney, I will be doing neither.
I will NOT be voting nor will I attend the meeting this week.
I want to reserve ALL of my rights against Joe Thomas and the “board” – and I recommend that you reserve your rights too.
Reserve YOUR Rights
I recommend that all of us boycott participation in both the vote
and any attendance of the “annual meeting” this week.
Don’t limit your options or your potential claims against Joe Thomas, Luther Parker and the rest of the “board.” Notify Joe Thomas and Luther by email and / or fax that you are revoking and withdrawing any ballot or proxy you have already sent. All you have to do is send something like the following to “Joe Thomas” <manager@deerridge.com>, “Luther Parker” <parker.luther@gmail.com>, “David A. Barone” <davidbarone@optonline.net> – or to fax for Deer Ridge at: 865-430-3248
To: Joe Thomas and Luther Parker and David Barone and GGRC “Board”
Re: Immediate and Permanent Revocation and Rescission of My Ballot and/or Proxy
Effective this date, I hereby revoke and rescind any and all previously sent proxy or ballot with regard to the upcoming Deer Ridge meeting that is scheduled to be held on April 24, 2010. By this memo, I also confirm that I will not attend, nor participate in any way, at said meeting.
Please confirm receipt of this revocation in writing via email to xxxx@yyy.com
John and Jane Smith, Unit ZZZ
Note also, that according to the “board”, if you have not paid your assessment, you cannot vote anyway – so revoking any ballot or proxy maintains your rights as I understand them from the attorney’s opinion – without you giving anything up.
Also, please email me or fax me what you send to them – that way, I have a record of your revocation and rescission so they can’t “cook” the books and rig the votes.
The “Annual Meeting” Issue
As readers of this Blog know, my contention is that the Master Deed and Bylaws of Deer Ridge REQUIRE that our Annual Meeting be held during the first calendar quarter of the year, i.e., January – March. Instead, Deer Ridge has held the “annual meeting” in April for years.
The problem, of course, is that the April get together, by definition, can’t be THE Annual Meeting. One of the issues is that the Board is REQUIRED to be elected DURING the Annual Meeting.
- Hence, if there is some kind of “board” election in April, it can’t be for the REAL Board of Directors.
- Hence, those who claim to be the Board are NOT the board – and have ZERO power to do anything, control anything or decide anything.
- Hence, the special assessment and a whole lot more things happening at Deer Ridge are being done completely illegitimately.
The Attorney’s Opinion
This was the comment that was in the independent attorney’s legal opinion with regard to the “Annual Meeting” and the illegitimate board.
I personally have not been to the last three “Annual Meetings” nor, as I recall, have I voted in the last two or three meetings by proxy. I, for certain, did not vote in the last meeting.
Hence, for me, the current “board” is NOT a valid board. Likewise, I refuse to even superficially validate the upcoming meeting since even it was not legitimately called by a valid board.
The 1988 “Vote”
Based on some recent information we’ve received, the “board” has been scurrying around like rats, exposed to light, trying to cover this issue. They are going to claim that some vote was held in 1988 that approved this move of the annual meeting to April. They have now, apparently, even filed this vote “of record” on the Sevier County deed records.
I understand that the “board” and their attorney Chuck Sexton saw the “light” and agreed that I was right about the annual meetings being REQUIRED in the first calendar quarter. I also understand that they very recently recorded the “vote” from this 1988 amendment changing the date of the annual meeting – but that does NOT validate the current “board” or its actions – even if there is the back up proof of a tallied vote showing the required 67% agreement to change the Bylaws. And, our upcoming litigation will challenge the validity of this TWENTY TWO YEAR OLD VOTE. If it is ruled to be an invalid vote, then the meeting this week will probably be deemed to be equally invalid as all of the past meetings.
So, you want to reserve your rights, accordingly.
Note that Article XX of the Bylaws requires that “No such amendment may be operative UNTIL it is embodied in a recorded instrument which shall be recorded in the same office and in the same manner as was the Master Deed and original By-Laws and Exhibits of the Horizontal Property Regime.”
Since Joey, Chuck and the boys have just recently seen the light and PERHAPS properly recorded this vague vote, this means that the current “board” is STILL not a duly authorized and elected board of GGRC et al. Which means that they are powerless. Period.
As I see it, it is also an admission of guilt by Joey and the “board” that they were NOT right all these past years – and that they are GUILTY of at least gross negligence and gross incompetence to have let it go this long – especially since I have been bringing up this issue for years. By scrambling like they are to record a 22 year old vote, they are admitting that it was NOT done, or NOT done right. If it wasn’t done right, then they are NOT the board.
The fact they are trying to cover their collective asses NOW, tells me that I was RIGHT in my assertions again – and they KNOW they are exposed as a result. The fact they are trying to use a 22 YEAR old nebulous vote for ratification shows that are afraid to even bring it up for a NEW vote!
Why The “No” To Voting?
If Joey and the Boys have actually now recorded this questionable and very suspect Twenty Two Year Old Vote, it may mean that the upcoming meeting MAY BE the first real Annual Meeting in 22 years.
As such, I expect that Chuck Sexton and the “board” will have a flood of issues to vote on during the April Meeting this week as a way for them to try and cover their collective asses and clean up the aggregate legal messes their gross negligence has caused. As such, if owners send proxies to these folks without thinking, this illegitimate “board” will abuse those proxies by voting on a myriad of issues to lock themselves into position for a continuation of their historical “abuse of power.”
Are you sure you want to give them a Carte Blanche by sending them your proxy?
If you have already sent your proxy, then fax or email a WRITTEN revocation of that proxy NOW…and demand a written acknowledgment from Joey that your proxy is null and void.
The second reason not to vote or send a proxy: It may very well mean that they will not have a quorum for either the meeting or the board election – which means that they will not be able to bulldoze their cover their ass votes through for approval.
In past years, they have had to scramble to even get enough proxies and ballots to hold an election. I know of at least one recent board meeting where there was not enough proxies or owners present to have a quorum – so no vote of members could be held.
Right now, the same old power clique “board” members who have been abusing their powers are running again for the three board seats. The two non-”board” members who are running – one can’t actually run now since he is not paying his illegitimate special assessment and he is revoking his vote and proxy – the other one mistakenly believes that only RML users have any rights at Deer Ridge – and appears to want non-RML users to be blocked from even serving on the Board – even though the Deer Ridge Documents do not allow this kind of discrimination.
In my opinion, the better alternative is NO voting / NO proxy – so that everyone can preserve their legal rights and recourse.
As always, make your own decisions – but I do ask that you pause to consider these issues.
Alternative Meeting?
Instead of THEIR meeting, I suggest that if any of you would like to meet with me and other like-minded folks next weekend, we can set up a special time to discuss what is really happening with Deer Ridge and the lawsuit.
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