Views From Deer Ridge And Beyond

These are my personal images and photos that show the beauty of the view from Deer Ridge Mountain Resort and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cobbly Nob and the Gatlinburg, Tennessee area.

Just click the Play button to watch - or click Big Picture to see a much larger slide show on a dedicated page here at DeerRidgeOwners.com.

Deer Ridge Litigation Fund

Do you, as an owner at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, believe we are ALL entitled to have access and be able to copy the books and records of our Homeowner's Association?

So, do I.

But, apparently, Employee Joe Thomas and President Luther Parker and the Board disagree - and are doing all they can to block access, publication and candid discussion of the Asinine Assessment, special deals and favored treatment - at the expense of all Owners.

What ARE they so afraid of us finding out?

Maybe it has to do with the HUGE $10,000 overcharge for my HOA Fees, special assessments, water and cable TV bill - which, in my personal opinion, is due to fraudulent intent or at least gross negligence by the Deer Ridge Board of Directors and / or General Manager Joe Thomas. Please see the posts for details.

We have no choice but to file a lawsuit against GGRC and RML in order to finally, once and for all, make it clear that OWNERS do have a right to all the information about our property and our investment at Deer Ridge.

If you have thoughts and ideas and suggestions, please post them here on this blog.

If you have any clout with the Board, convince them to stop the charade - and let the owners have the information that all owners own!

If you want to help cover the legal costs to get us the right to see the bids for $50,000 for nuts and bolts - and the other background documents for the $353,500 Asinine Assessment, please click on the Donate Button below.

With enough in donations, we can hire BOTH an attorney AND a forensic accountant for the whole process through the Court in Sevier County to make absolutely certain we win EVERY point - and never have to fight Employee Joe and the Board on this stuff again.

Even a $100 contribution will help show that you are in favor of an open and FULLY transparent homeowners' association at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort!

Thanks so much to those of you who have already contributed!


Disclaimer

Legalese On

GENERAL DISCLAIMER FOR ALL PAGES AND POSTS AND EVERYTHING ELSE I DO OR SAY REGARDING DEER RIDGE AND ANY AND ALL RELATED PARTIES:

Note: The following, and the information on any and all other posts and pages by me about General Manager Joe Thomas, GGRC, RML and /or the Board of Directors and its members, or any related topics, are my personal opinions based on my ongoing investigation into the actions and inactions of the GGRC and RML Board of Directors and / or Joe Thomas, General Manager.

While I believe these allegations to be true based on my objective analysis, these opinions remain as only allegations until I, or others, prove things in court.

My goal is to offer all owners all the information and evidence that I have available so that everyone can reach their own conclusions.

Please note the obvious:

Everything I ever say or write in person, via emails, or on my blog, about Deer Ridge or any and all related entities and organizations or any and all affiliated personnel or owners, is strictly my own personal opinion of course - based, in part, from my owning a unit at Deer Ridge for over five years - and on my own personal history.

That history includes earning a Presidential MBA degree, being awarded a Bachelor of Science, With Honors, in Engineering Physics from UT, working for NASA as a rocket scientist at Marshall Space Flight Center, 30 years of CEO experience directly employing and managing many hundreds of people at multiple companies I personally started and operated (including one that I took public), 15 years experience buying and selling over $100 million of property and managing more than 45,000 rental units - AND being able to read and do four-function arithmetic.

Legalese - And Powered Wig - Off

----------------------------

Welcome to All Deer Ridge Owners

Welcome to all owners of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort condos in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

My goal is to help all Deer Ridge owners to have a voice in the management and operation of your property.

Click on the TITLES of any of the following subjects to read the whole posting - and see the comments made by your co-owners. You can also type any term into the below search box, or any word or term in the search cloud.

Click the big image at the top of the page to return to the front page at any time.

.

Investment Analysis For A Rental Condo At Deer Ridge


Will you really lose $40,000 cash if you buy a rental condo at Deer Ridge and use Ridge Management Ltd?

Click To Download!

As an owner-occupied home, Deer Ridge is an incredible value with THE best view in the Smokies and great amenities.

However, several owners and would-be owners of Deer Ridge condos have asked me if these units are a good rental property investment or not. To help answer that question objectively, I had to analyze the real moving parts of buying and owning here.

Get my complete, detailed investment analysis based on buying a rental condo unit at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

It shows what you MUST do to make money when you buy a rental unit at Deer Ridge.

Just click the picture or click Investment Analysis

Recommended Cameras

Gross Negligence – Or Is It Fraud?

Every Dollar You Pay For Deer Ridge Is The WRONG Amount!

Please read the various posts here on this Deer Ridge Owners Blog - and see my evidence and analysis which I believe shows conclusively that EVERY dollar of HOA Fees, EVERY dollar EVERY special assessment, EVERY water bill and cable TV sent out for YEARS to ALL Deer Ridge Owners has been wrong!

In many cases at least ONE THIRD of ALL owners have been GROSSLY overcharged. My calculations show that I have been overcharged more than TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS in the past 50 months I've owned at Deer Ridge.

The Board has been WRONGLY and arbitrarily ignoring the requirements of the Master Deed and the Bylaws for YEARS.

If my analysis is correct, the Board has zero choice. They MUST abide by the Master Deed Percentages.

But they haven’t.

However, if the Board knowingly ignored the clear directives of the Master Deed and the Bylaws when allocating costs to various unit types, and overcharging certain unit types on a regular basis, my opinion is that the Board and Joe Thomas may have acted fraudulently.

If they have not been fraudulent, then they have been, at the very least, grossly negligent.

Read the various blog postings - and judge for yourself.

Comments Welcome From All Visitors

You are welcome to leave your comments on the various posts on the blog. You no longer have to be registered to comment. (Even regular contributors had trouble remembering their log on passwords!)

Note that SPAM blockers are in place - and all comments require approval to be visible.

So, let's hear from you on these topics!

To view the comments, you need to click on the post topic to see the entire post and the comments.

"We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert." — J. Robert Oppenheimer. This includes the Board of Directors of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.


The Missing Deer Ridge Water Bills – Why Not Listed On The Audit???

share save 171 16 The Missing Deer Ridge Water Bills   Why Not Listed On The Audit???

I assume most of you have seen the latest Joe Thomas letter regarding the huge size of recent water bills and how GGRC is having to dig into its jeans (our jeans) for an extra $2,000.

Now, the idea of replacing the shower heads for $30 per unit is sound thinking.  We replaced ours two years ago with a $20 one from Amazon that was very highly rated by other customers – one that was both water saving and high velocity.  So, we agree with this step.

However…

Real Increases In Water Usage – Or Something Else?

Joe goes on to list the points of investigation that he is doing to help track down the source of the increase water usage.  What he doesn’t mention are his data points.

  • When did the increase start?
  • Could it possibly be due to the one time aberration that was caused by all the water that was used for several months to high pressure wash all buildings in preparation of all buildings at Deer Ridge being painted?
  • Could it be due to an aberration caused by refilling the indoor pool when it was emptied last month for maintenance reasons?
  • Could it be caused by all the massive amount of water that is used by our “commercial laundry” that is used by RML for rental units’ sheets and towels?
  • Could it be caused by all of the over-watering of the pavement and flower beds where the hose is turned on but then forgotten for hours beyond the needed water that was really required?
  • Or, is it that these aberrations are being used to set us all up for yet another HOA fee increase come November when the “board” will be looking for all sorts of ways to raise our HOA fees by $70-$100 a MONTH just to cover the massive ongoing hemorrhage caused by the Gang of Six keeping us in the motel business with the money losing RML operation that is bankrupting our HOA?

Deer Ridge Mountain Resort gets one bill per month from Webb Creek Utility District.  But they also have a comprehensive spread sheet that shows water usage each by unit number.  It seems to me that a 12 month variance analysis of this report would quickly identify where the changes in water usage are REALLY occurring.

Let’s See The Real Data, Joe

As owners, I recommend that you all individually request the following from our GGRC books and records:

  • A copy of the Webb Creek Utility District water bill(s) for each of the past 12 months.
  • A copy of the monthly water usage breakout by unit spreadsheet.

Or, better yet, request that Joey and board post the above information on the GGRC blog for all owners to see and analyze.  That way, we can all help Joe Thomas do the analysis – and maybe keep all of us from seeing yet another hike in HOA fees come November.

Note that several owners have told me that they have requested a copy of the monthly Webb Creek Utility District water bill(s) and Joey has yet to EVER give a copy of these out to ANYBODY.

Curious, huh?

The Missing Audit Numbers – A Smoking Gun???

All of this triggered a thought:  Where on our audits do we reflect that RML last year received almost $120,000 from all owners for water during calendar year 2010?

In other words, you and I and every other owner wrote a check to RML every month for $117.25.  (This was when water / sewer was billed to all owners at $117.25 before the increase by RML to $120.38 on January 1, 2011.)

This adds up to $118,188 paid into RML during 2010.

So, where’s the money showing up on the audit?

There is not a single line item on the entire 2010 audit of RML that deals with water.  Zero. Nada. Zip.  Yet, the checks were all written to RML, commingled with our payment of the cable TV bill and, for some, a telephone charge.  Here’s what the RML audit for 2010 actually shows:

No Water Showing RML Audit 2010 The Missing Deer Ridge Water Bills   Why Not Listed On The Audit???

Notice that all the other pass through direct costs are show above including the Cable TV, the telephone and even the Cobbly Knob dues.

But where IS the water???

There is nearly $120,000 of deposits into RML accounts that are completely unaccounted for on this audit!

And, it isn’t on the GGRC audit either.  The ONLY line item for water there is this:

Water Showing GGRC Audit 2010 The Missing Deer Ridge Water Bills   Why Not Listed On The Audit???

Notice that the total actual water bill shown for GGRC for calendar year 2010 is only $6,952 for the whole year.  And, there is NO income item on GGRC whatsoever for water.

So, WHERE is the missing $118,188 paid into RML during 2010???

And…how much of this $118,188 paid into RML during 2010 was actually used to pay the water bill…and where did all the rest of this money go???

Could all of this be part of  the REAL reason that, after years of paying RML for the water bill, that Joey and the Gang are SO anxious all of a sudden, as a result of my lawsuit against them, to have the water be paid directly into GGRC starting this month???

What IS the reason for this change with such urgency???

Show Us The Money, Joey!

So, Joey, show up the last 12 months of water bills – and let’s see if they are REALLY averaging $10,112 per month.

It’s easy enough to prove, Joey – show us the proof – that ALL owners have a right to see.

————————————

Below is the letter sent by Joe Thomas regarding the water usage.

August 3, 2011

Dear GGRC Co-Owner:

Over the last few months, we have experienced a large increase in water usage.  While our occupancy has been up due to summer travelers, water usage has increased disproportionally.  Since we were concerned about the volume, the first step we took was to ask the Webb Creek Utility District to perform an analysis of our water usage.  We have also contacted a plumber, and asked for his expertise in searching for possible leaks.  These steps are in progress.  Another step that we plan to take very soon is to change the original shower heads that are still in place in many of the condos on the rental program.  Those original shower heads are now 25 years old, and expel far too much water at a time.  We will soon be changing the heads in the rentals units, and request that you consider doing the same.  The water saving shower heads that we will purchase will cost around $20 plus tax, and then there will be some labor involved in the installation.  If you would like our maintenance staff to change yours, please email Joe at manager@deerridge.com and we will charge you just $30.  We feel that this change is a step in the right direction toward our water usage.  Please bear in mind that if water usage continues to climb, we will have no choice other than to increase the monthly HOA dues.  Currently, GGRC has been paying the additional monies incurred, which have been $2,000 or more each month.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

 

Joe Thomas

General Manager

865-436-2325

manager@deerridge.com

 

share save 171 16 The Missing Deer Ridge Water Bills   Why Not Listed On The Audit???

UnNatural Nature Trail At Deer Ridge Mountain Resort Gatlinburg Tennessee

share save 171 16 UnNatural Nature Trail At Deer Ridge Mountain Resort Gatlinburg Tennessee

The UnNatural Nature Trail

These photos were taken around Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  Most all of these were taken on April 7, 2011. In my opinion, what you are about to see is a dismal indication of gross mismanagement by Joe Thomas, General Manager, at Deer Ridge.

How hard is it to have our existing maintenance personnel walk this trail at least once a week to pick up this kind of trash and debris? It SHOULD be done once per day by a competent property management company!  None of our 3 or 4 maintenance staff have 15 MINUTES a WEEK for this NO COST maintenance?

Inexcusable Mismanagement

This kind of gross mismanagement is totally inexcusable. How do you think this kind of mismanagement comes across to your guests and tourists? How do you think  this kind of mismanagement comes across to prospective buyers?

It’s Been Like This For Months

What you are seeing is not the result of a very recent wind storm or other act of God. What you are seeing is the state of neglect of our nature trail for MONTHS due to what I believe is irresponsible mismanagement. Virtually everything you are seeing could have been fixed for almost no cost – in less than a day.

Good First Impression, Huh?

Tourists see this mismanagement every time they walk the Nature Trail or walk the property. Tourists see this mismanagement every time they take their kids to the playground. Is this the image of Deer Ridge that you want your guests to have when they visit or rent from you?

Get It Done – Now

Solve the Nature Trail problem now. No more excuses. We WILL be watching…everything.

And, we WILL be making more movies…just like this one to hold Joe Thomas and the “board” accountable.

share save 171 16 UnNatural Nature Trail At Deer Ridge Mountain Resort Gatlinburg Tennessee

New YouTube.com Video: Candid Tourist Reviews Of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort

share save 171 16 New YouTube.com Video: Candid Tourist Reviews Of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort

Below is the latest video we just posted on our new Deer Ridge Owners Channel on YouTube.com:

It details the Top Two Dozen Complaints we hear from tourists and guests who visit Deer Ridge Mountain Resort in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

You can read the entire review of Deer Ridge at www.DeerRidgeReviews.com along with some other videos that we have posted at YouTube, including one on the Pathetic Pavilion and a complete video I took walking the entire property a few weeks ago.

New YouTube videos coming soon on the lawsuits and upcoming motion for Summary Judgment against Joe Thomas, Luther Parker, Larry Ohm, Margie Duncan, Tom Reise and David Barone.

Stay Tuned!

PS:  If you would like to see all our growing number of videos posted on YouTube.com for Deer Ridge, please click Channel.

share save 171 16 New YouTube.com Video: Candid Tourist Reviews Of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort

Gatlinburg And Pigeon Forge: Need Maintenance And Repair For Your Condo Or Cabin?

share save 171 16 Gatlinburg And Pigeon Forge: Need Maintenance And Repair For Your Condo Or Cabin?

If you need maintenance and repair work done for your condo or cabin in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, I can highly recommend Joe Sutton.

We’ve used Joe on several occassions, and he is highly knowledgeable, versatile and fast….along with great pricing.  This plug for Joe gives us no benefits of any kind – we just wanted to refer his services because of all the great work he is done for us – including a half dozen items he took care of just this week.

You can reach Joe at 865-654-4427.

share save 171 16 Gatlinburg And Pigeon Forge: Need Maintenance And Repair For Your Condo Or Cabin?

Deer Ridge – Pathetic Pavilion – New YouTube Video

share save 171 16 Deer Ridge   Pathetic Pavilion   New YouTube Video

New YouTube Video Added

We’ve just added a new video to our Deer Ridge Owners Channel at YouTube.com.   As always, you can watch in hi def and also full screen here or you can view it directly at YouTube.com by clicking the YouTube symbol on the bottom corner of the video.

The Pathetic Pavilion

This video shows the current state of the Joe’s Folly Picnic Pavilion at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.  These problems have been there for MONTHS…and it’s inexcusable state of disrepair is an embarrassment and a very bad reflection on Deer Ridge to owners, guests and tourists.

Inexcusable.

These photos were taken around Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, mostly on March 19, 2011. 

In my opinion, what you are about to see is a dismal indication of gross mismanagement by Joe Thomas, General Manager, at Deer Ridge.

Good First Impression, Huh?

  • Tourists see this mismanagement every time they walk the Nature Trail or walk the property.
  • Tourists see this mismanagement every time they take their kids to the playground.
  • Is this the image of Deer Ridge that you want your guests to have when they visit or rent from you?
  • It’s been INEXCUSABLY like this for MONTHS.
  • Joe Thomas never walks the property any more?
  • We have 3 or 4 on site maintenance people on the payroll.
  • None had time during past MONTHS to have one of them fix this stuff that take less than one day?
  • The maintenance staff of 3 or 4 does what they are told to do by General Manager Joe Thomas.
  • In my opinion, I think it is clearly obvious that Joe Thomas, as General Manager, is doing a pathetic job of managing – and should be fired ASAP for gross incompetence and gross mismanagement.
  • Instead, the “board” just gave Joey a 10% raise.

Find Out More – Watch The Video

When you look at this video, try to imagine how this same level of management incompetent translates across the entire property – and even into your own unit.

Stay Tuned For More Upcoming Deer Ridge Mountain Resort Videos

PS:  I am not an attorney and these opinions are my own.  Please be sure and refer to the full disclaimer language in the side bars and the Terms of this website. 

share save 171 16 Deer Ridge   Pathetic Pavilion   New YouTube Video

Deer Ridge Summary Judgment Motion And Other Motions For April 26 Hearing

share save 171 16 Deer Ridge Summary Judgment Motion And Other Motions For April 26 Hearing

Summary Judgment And Temporary Injunction

 As you know from one of my recent postings, we finally have a hearing date set for my litigation against Joe Thomas, Luther Parker, Larry Ohm, Margie Duncan, David Barone and Tom Reise.  Copies of all four motions that will be heard on April 26, 2011 are shown below.  Click on each photo to download the entire Acrobat file for each document that has been filed with the Court.

We are covering several issues during this hearing that will be pivotal for this case that could cause a major, consequential and immediate impact to the way that Deer Ridge Mountain Resort is operated. We are asking that the judge issue an immediate ruling on his interpretation of the Deer Ridge Master Deed and Bylaws which we believe have been grossly and purposely misinterpreted by Joe Thomas and the rest of the Gang of Six.

 The changes resulting from a favorable ruling could include:

  • The Judge’s ruling could determine, once and for all, how everyone’s monthly assessment is calculated, including HOA fees, water and cable TV bills. If we win this one point, all 30 of the 1-1 units should no longer be overcharged 82% every month on their HOA fee!
  • The Judge’s ruling could determine, once and for all, how much, if any, will be owed by each owner on the current “special assessment” and the right amounts that should have been charged on all prior “special assessments.”
  • The Judge’s ruling could determine, once and for all, whether the current charge to all owners for this year’s portion of the “special assessment” will be blocked by our motion for temporary and permenant injunction.
  • The Judge’s ruling could determine, once and for all, whether RML and RRR (Ridge Resort Realty) are legitmate or not…and whether they were created as ultra vires acts by “board” members, making them possibly personal liable to repay all costs associated with RML and RRR for the past several years.  (My calculations show that RML alone has cost owners at least $118,000 a year…so multiply this by The Six years we’ve owned and that equates to over $700,000 that might be owed back to GGRC by the individual “board” members.)
  • The Judge’s ruling could determine, once and for all, that all improvements and alterations require both a positive vote by 75% of all owners AND 90% of all mortgagees.  If the judge rules in our favor on this, that means that about $82,000, or 23% of the entire $353,500 Asinine Assessment were illegally spent by the “board” since they adamently refused to follow the Master Deed and Bylaws on this point, even knowing it was required.  If this ruling goes in our favor, the “board” can be judged, again, to have been acting ultra vires…which means that each of the “board” members could be held jointly and severally liable for the full amount of the illegitimate expenditures.
  • This same ruling should make the “board” members also personally liable for all those past improvements and alterations that were done where they ignored my demands for the past 6 years to solicit the required 75% vote of all owners.  These include:
    • Joe’s Folly – The $80,000 picnic pavillion that should have never been built.
    • New pool decking – $30,000
    • Reception area and office improvements – $25,000
    • Maintenance building improvements and addtions – $15,000
    • Chairs for weddings, etc. - $3,200
    • Playground equipment – $3,000
    • New computers and office equipment – $5,000
    • Vehicles, golf carts, etc.  ???
    • Game room equipment  ???
    • Commercial laundry room equipment for RML ???
    • All of these monies were spent by the board without proper authority and approval by the owners at Deer Ridge.
  • Some of these amounts are guesses and I am sure this list of improvements and additions is not comprehensive.  But once we are finally allowed to see the real books and records as provided by Tennessee state law, we expect that we will be able to add lots more to this list and correct the numbers here.  
  • Even without the addtions, the above list adds up to more than $161,200 that would be ultra vires violations by the “board.”
  • All totalled, this could make the “board” members individually responsible to personally pay back over $940,000
  • If we divide this amount by the 5 board members, that would equal $188,000 that each would be responsible to pay.  However, it is my understanding that all board members are “jointly and severally” liable for this amount…which means that each board member is fully responsible for the whole amount if and when one board member or another doesn’t pay. If this happens, I can easily envision lawsuits being filed by one “board” member against another demanding that they pay their fair share of any court ordered reimbursements back to GGRC. If lawsuits between “board” members were to happen, all kinds of “smoking guns” disclosures might be uncovered.

The Other Key Motion

We also filed a Motion to Compel so that this Despicable Gang of Six is forced by the Court to finally turn over the Deer Ridge books and records.

  • It’s been nine months since we filed our motion for production of documents with the Court — but so far Joe Thomas and the “board” have not complied.
  • We have been waiting for nine months for Joe Thomas to turn over the books and records on GGRC that all owners have a right to see.
  • Joe Thomas keeps adamantly stating that he has properly maintained the Administrator’s Book as required by Tennessee state law.  Joey keeps saying they have this information, in the right format — but they don’t seem to be able to produce it.

I wonder why?

Now, Joey and the Gang are trying to mark all of Deer Ridge’s books and records as “confidential‘ to keep us from sharing them with YOU – all past and present owners At Deer Ridge who also have a right to see and thoroughly study the books and records concerning OUR investment in our property at Deer Ridge.

They claim these books and records and the emails between the six Gang members “… may cause injury, prejudice or [particularly] embarrassment” to Joe Thomas, Luther Parker, Larry Ohm, Margie Duncan, David Baron and Tom Reise.

As our Motion states, these “embarrassing” consequences fall in the category of “sometimes the truth hurts.”

Additionally, our motion to block their “protective” order stipulates we completely agree that obvious information such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers and the like will be treated as confidential….but NOT all the rest of the information that we will find in these documents.

We fully expect to find all kinds of “embarrassing” actions and statements, done and made, by this Gang of Six.

We fully expect to also find all kinds of other questionable activities that have been committed by these individuals.

And, we, and several other Deer Ridge owners, plan on looking VERY carefully and diligently for any and all signs of any potential civil and/or criminal malfeasance that might have, just maybe, been committed by any, or all, members of the Gang. As of now, we’ve not seen any documentation that proves malfeasance — but then again, we have yet to get the full books and records we’ve been requesting for over five years. Right now, we only have our overwhelming intuition that screams about ongoing malfeasance.

Maybe we won’t find any such malfeasance — but if we do, any and all guilty parties will suffer a whole lot more than simple “embarrassment.”

Maybe that’s why the Gang members are continuing their desperate FIVE YEAR long attempts to keep this information secret. They seem terrified their secrets are going to finally see the light of day.

We believe that’s one of the reasons that Joe Thomas and the Gang have fought so hard, for so many years, to keep this information out of the hands of the owners who deserve full visibility, full disclosure and full accountability from those who have been handling over $1 million a year on this property for a decade.

  • What IS it that terrifies them so much about what we will find in those books and records?
  • We ARE going to get to the bottom of this.
  • We ARE going to get access to all the books and records that Joey and the board have tried for years to keep secret.

And, we intend to do everything we can to block their motion for “protective” order — so that we can share ALL of this information with EVERY owner At Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.

Note – Temporary Injunction To Block Special Assessment Payment – Should You Pay?

Notice that Section 4 of the Motion For Summary Judgment includes wording that we “seek a temporary and permanent injunction prohibiting and restraining the Board from attempting to make any alterations or additions to the Common Elements except in compliance with the seventy-five (75%) percent and ninety (90%) percent requirements of Article XII subsection 2 set out above, including the $340,000 “Special Assessment .. currently being billed to Association members.”  (The $340,000 is a typo that is being corrected to reflect the full $353,500.)

Bottom line:  We believe this wording blocks any and all collection by GGRC for the “special assessment” if the judge agrees with our motion. You should be your own judge of this document and its intent and decide for yourself if you are required, in light of this pending court action, to make the currently due special assessment payment.  We believe it is germaine that 23% of this special assessment is for walkway railings and lighting improvements that did not have the required 75% / 90% vote.  Also, germaine is that the calculated amount for every unit does not abide by the Master Deed Percentages – which means that the amounts of all payments due from all owners would be significantly different.

This seems like two very good reasons to me that the Judge should award both a temporary and permanent injunction against this Asinine Assessment.

Lots More Info

Please check out the following links for more information on these issues – and what we hope to gain from our $3 million lawsuit against  Joe Thomas, Luther Parker, Larry Ohm, Margie Duncan, David Barone and Tom Reise.

Copies Of Motions Filed with the Court

Motion for Summary Judgment Temporary Injunction Deer Ridge Summary Judgment Motion And Other Motions For April 26 Hearing

Motion For Summary Judgement & Temporary Injunction - Click For Document

Motion to Compel Deer Ridge Summary Judgment Motion And Other Motions For April 26 Hearing

Motion To Compel - Click For Document

Response of def to Motn to Dismiss Motn for Judgment on Pleadings Deer Ridge Summary Judgment Motion And Other Motions For April 26 Hearing

Motion To Dismiss and Judgment on Pleadings - Click For Document

Response of def to Motion for Protective Order Deer Ridge Summary Judgment Motion And Other Motions For April 26 Hearing

Motion For Protective Order - Click For Document

Stay Tuned! 

We live in interesting times!

Tick…tick…tick.

PS:  I am not an attorney and these opinions are my own.  Please be sure and refer to the full disclaimer language in the side bars and the Terms of this website. 

PPS:  Be sure and watch this blog for upcoming news about our new domain name:  HOABoardAbuse.com and our two new video channels on YouTube.com:  DeerRidgeOwners.com and HOABoardAbuse.com.  In-depth videos are being produced to fully explain, to all Owners and the World, exactly what is happening both at Deer Ridge and at other abusive HOA Board run properties across the Nation.  These videos will be posted on both DeerRidgeOwners.com and YouTube.com. 

 Stay tuned – you never know what videos might go viral!

 

 

share save 171 16 Deer Ridge Summary Judgment Motion And Other Motions For April 26 Hearing

Date Set For Summary Judgement And Motion To Compel Filed Against GGRC, Joe Thomas And Board

share save 171 16 Date Set For Summary Judgement And Motion To Compel Filed Against GGRC, Joe Thomas And Board

News Flash:

Hearing Date Finally Set For Summary Judgement And Motion To Compel Filed Against GGRC, Joe Thomas And The “Board”

  We finally get this case before the Judge on April 26, 2011.  This is a copy of a letter sent by our attorney to the Court:Summary Judgement Hearing Notice 022111 Date Set For Summary Judgement And Motion To Compel Filed Against GGRC, Joe Thomas And Board

This first court date is not for everything – but it is for some very pivotal motions and especially for a Summary Judgment on THREE issues – instead of just the two issues that we originally included in our first motion for Summary Judgment that was filed back in November:  

  1. The Master Deed Percentages must be followed – that these clearly stated ratios contained in the Master Deed must be followed for all assessments and common expenses for all owners at Deer Ridge.
  2. Establish the Illegitimacy of RML and Ridge Resort Realty – there is no provision whatsoever in our Master Deed for owners at Deer Ridge to support and fund, and be exposed to the business risks of operating two small businesses.  This is not the purpose of a real estate investment in a residential home.
  3. Article XII of the Master Deed must be followed - it requires that the board must have both a 75% vote by homeowners AND a 90% vote by all mortgagees involved with the ownership of Deer Ridge units before any alterations, additions or improvements are made to the common elements of the property.
  4. We have also filed Motions to Compel Joe Thomas and the “board” to finally provide us the books and records of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort in the exact format that is required by Tennessee state law.
  5. We have also filed a Motion for Temporary Injunction to block the currently due second phase of the Asinine Assessment payment.

We believe that the Three Summary Judgment issues are clear cut interpretations of the Master Deed and Bylaws – and do not require findings of fact.  As a consequence, a Summary Judgment can be pursued on these three issues.

  • As such, we are asking the Court to read the controlling documents of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort and rule on the spot on the proper interpretation of the GGRC controlling documents and Tennessee State Law. Since many of our claims rests solely on the proper interpretation of the master documents, there is no need for discovery, depositions or testimony for this part of our litigation. Instead, the controlling documents speak for themselves — and only require the Court to read the 90 pages of our Master Deed and Bylaws and make a ruling based on the Judge’s sole interpretation of these documents.
  • We are highly confident that our interpretations will prevail — and the strained, manipulated and flatly wrong interpretations that Joey and the Gang have depended on for years will be denied by the Court.
  • The first issue for Summary Judgment will be that the Master Deed Percentages MUST be followed for all cost allocations and assessments — instead of being based on the “arbitrary and capricious” methods that Joey and the “board” use to illegitimately overcharge all 30 1-1 units by a whopping 82%  every single month!judge and gavel Date Set For Summary Judgement And Motion To Compel Filed Against GGRC, Joe Thomas And Board
  • If we win on this one point, this means EVERY assessment – including the monthly assessments and the expenses for water, cable TV, etc. - for EVERY unit has been wrongly charged for YEARS – including, of course, the amounts for the Asinine Assessment and all other past assessments.
  • If we win on this one point, we believe that this will have FAR reaching consequences to EVERY current owner at Deer Ridge – especially all 30 of the 1-1 unit owners who have been victimized for years.
  • If we win on this one point, ALL the current, and many past, 1-1 unit owners should be owed a SUBSTANTIAL amount of money refunding the gross monthly overcharges that Luther Parker amazingly stated, “were fair and equitable.”
  • We would expect that these 1-1 unit owners would also be awarded interest and penalties. All of these refunds, interest, penalties may also be owed to dozens, if not hundreds, of past owners, thereby making the claims against the counter defendants even more substantial.
  • If we win this one point during our Motion for Summary Judgment, it should stop all future violations by The Gang of Six as well as any new board from trying to circumvent the GGRC documents.
  • Likewise, we are asking the Court to rule that RML and RRR are illegitimate – and all the monies that have been squandered over the years supporting these companies are not admissible Common Expenses. We believe that a review of the controlling documents by the Court will quickly establish that there is NO provision in our Master Deed and Bylaws for all homeowners at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort to be subjected to the costs and risks that are inherent with starting and running small businesses.
  • If we win this one point, we will take expedited legal steps so that RML and RRR will be immediately shut down and disposed of by selling those companies to the highest bidder out of any and all potential buyers with the proceeds paid to those owners who were not a part of RML.
  • By winning this one point of Summary Judgment, we get rid of RML and RRR, and the hemorrhage of HALF our current monthly assessments will be finally stopped — and we’ll finally be out of the motel business.  This one point alone will dramatically change the way GGRC and Deer Ridge Mountain Resort have been managed, or rather mismanaged, for over a decade – and allow for a MAJOR reduction in the HOA fees for most all homeowners.
  • Article XII of the Master Deed clearly provides that there shall be no alterations or additions to the common elements or any part thereof except as authorized by the Board of Directors and approved by not less than 75% of the total vote of co-owners AND not less than 90% of the mortgagees. First, I had to fight the Gang of Six with regard to the requirement that a 75% vote of the total co-owners was required for any alterations or addition or improvements at Deer Ridge.  I finally won this point during a board meeting in which the board’s attorney, Chuck Sexton, was present. However, the Gang of Six continues to refuse to pursue the 90% vote of the mortgagees as required by our Master Deed.
  • If we win this one point during our Motion for Summary Judgment on April 26, we intend to aggressively and immediately pursue forcing reimbursement directly from the members of the “Board of Directors” for their ultra vires acts of illegitimately squandering over $120,000 of owners’ money…including all monies recently spent on the walkway railings.  Even as recently as the vote on the walkway railings, Luther Parker and the rest of the “board” categorically refused to even pursue the required 90% vote of all mortgagees and gaveled me out of order at a board meeting to stop my insistence that the governing documents required it.  If we win this one point during our Motion for Summary Judgment, it should stop all future violations by The Gang of Six as well as any new board from trying to circumvent the GGRC documents.
  • It will also be interesting to see what happens to the defense of Joe Thomas and the “board” by the insurance company if we are successful in proving that this Gang of Six was acting ultra vires since all indemnifications of them defined in the Master Deed and Bylaws are null and void.  This would make all members of the Gang of Six jointly and severally libel and fully responsible for their own legal costs in defending themselves against our $3 million lawsuit…along with them being jointly and severally libel and fully responsible for any repayments, penalties, interest, punitive damages, etc.

These are just the first three issues for Summary Judgment. If we are successful with these, we expect to move for Summary Judgment on other fundamental interpretations of our Master Deed and Bylaws that will stop the Gang’s abuse of it power.

We believe that pursuing the Summary Judgment is in the best interest of all parties, including all homeowners, to expeditiously resolve some of the more outstanding issues regarding our litigation.

Other Ongoing Litigation

We intend to continue to pursue our litigation on all other areas of our lawsuit too…some of the other areas will entail findings of fact that will require depositions and testimony and, as a consequence, are not subject to Summary Judgment. These will require in-depth litigation and may include damages, interest and penalties, along with payment of all of our legal fees, as we continue to pursue this matter.

We expect, in the near term, to be taking the depositions and interrogatories of Joe Thomas, Luther Parker, Tom Reise, Margie Duncan and other members of the “board.”  Depositions and interrogatories will probably be taken from past and current employees and past “board” members.

(I personally can’t wait to get Joe Thomas and Luther Parker and some of the other “board” members to testify under oath – and ask some very specific questions concerning their decision-making process and ask them for very detailed explanations about several entries in the books and records!)

So, all you Gang Members — get ready to give your depositions and interrogatories — and get ready to testify in Court.

Joey And the Gang Are Worried About Being ”Embarrassed”

We also filed a Motion to Compel so that this Despicable Gang of Six is forced by the Court to finally turn over the Deer Ridge books and records.

It’s been seven months since we filed our motion for production of documents with the Court — but so far Joe Thomas and the “board” have not complied.

We have been waiting for seven months for Joe Thomas to turn over the books and records on GGRC that all owners have a right to see.

Joe Thomas keeps adamantly stating that he has properly maintained the Administrator’s Book as required by Tennessee state law.  Joey keeps saying they have this information, in the right format — but they don’t seem to be able to produce it.

I wonder why?

Now, Joey and the Gang are trying to mark all of Deer Ridge’s books and records as “confidential‘ to keep us from sharing them with YOU – all past and present owners At Deer Ridge who also have a right to see and thoroughly study the books and records concerning OUR investment in our property at Deer Ridge.

They claim these books and records and the emails between the six Gang members “… may cause injury, prejudice or [particularly] embarrassmentto Joe Thomas, Luther Parker, Larry Ohm, Margie Duncan, David Baron and Tom Reise.

As our Motion states, these “embarrassing” consequences fall in the category of “sometimes the truth hurts.”

Additionally, our motion to block their “protective” order stipulates we completely agree that obvious information such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers and the like will be treated as confidential….but NOT all the rest of the information that we will find in these documents.

We fully expect to find all kinds of “embarrassing” actions and statements, done and made, by this Gang of Six.

We fully expect to also find all kinds of other questionable activities that have been committed by these individuals.

And, we, and several other Deer Ridge owners, plan on looking VERY carefully and diligently for any and all signs of any potential civil and/or criminal malfeasance that might have, just maybe, been committed by any, or all, members of the Gang. As of now, we’ve not seen any documentation that proves malfeasance — but then again, we have yet to get the full books and records we’ve been requesting for over five years. Right now, we only have our overwhelming intuition that screams about ongoing malfeasance.

Maybe we won’t find any such malfeasance — but if we do, any and all guilty parties will suffer a whole lot more than simple “embarrassment.”

Maybe that’s why the Gang members are continuing their desperate FIVE YEAR long attempts to keep this information secret. They seem terrified their secrets are going to finally see the light of day.

We believe that’s one of the reasons that Joe Thomas and the Gang have fought so hard, for so many years, to keep this information out of the hands of the owners who deserve full visibility, full disclosure and full accountability from those who have been handling over $1 million a year on this property for a decade.

  • What IS it that terrifies them so much about what we will find in those books and records?
  • We ARE going to get to the bottom of this.
  • We ARE going to get access to all the books and records that Joey and the board have tried for years to keep secret.

And, we intend to do everything we can to block their motion for “protective” order — so that we can share ALL of this information with EVERY owner At Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.

April 26, 2011

The Court date is set.  April 26, 2011.  After nearly 9 months of litigation, this will be our first hearing before the Court. We now have a fixed hearing date – less than two months from now.

If the Court agrees with us on these motions, we may be able to short circuit a lot of the Gang of Six BS and delays — and finally get rulings on these issues and effectuate major changes at Deer Ridge.

If Joey and the Gang really want quick resolution of this, they should be all in favor of getting an expedited ruling on the three issues in the Motion for Summary Judgment.

What do you want to bet that they will do EVERYTHING in their power to drag this out — and try their best to delay any ruling of any kind?

If so, that is just more proof to me that they KNOW they are NOT doing things the right way.

I will try to make the time this week to post copies of the new motions we have just filed so all of you can review them in detail.

What will be interesting will be the report that the Gang has to made at the “annual meeting” on April 30th, which is the weekend immediately following the Court date.  Will they prepare two different meeting agenda and presentations – depending on what they may win or lose a few days earlier?

Resignations and “Retirement”

Also, we have overheard gossip that Joey and other members of the Gang of Six believe that they can simply walk away from being held responsible for their past acts and actions by either resigning or retiring…or even selling their unit at Deer Ridge. 

Just to be clear,  resignations and retirement will not absolve ANY wrongdoings  by Joey and the Gang…and if we discover ANY malfeasance of ANY kind by ANY “board” member or employee, we will do everything we can to enforce ALL appropriate justice.

Stay tuned — We Live In Interesting Times!

The rulings on the upcoming Motion for Summary Judgment on April 26, 2011, along with our other motions, could end up drastically changing  the current way virtually everything is done at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.   Plus, once we finally get the books and records on this property….well, we fully expect to find all sorts of “interesting” facts about actions and monies paid that might not have been in the best interests of ALL owners.

Hey Joey and the Gang…less than two months until our Court date….when, as Galatians 5:1 sort of states, ”Deer Ridge Owners shall know the truth, and the truth shall set us free.”  Of course, the freedom of The Gang of Six might depend on what we find once we finally get to see the books and records!

Tick…tick…tick.

PS:  I am not an attorney and these opinions are my own.  Please be sure and refer to the full disclaimer language in the side bars and the Terms of this website. 

PPS:  Be sure and watch this blog for upcoming news about our new domain name:  HOABoardAbuse.com and our two new video channels on YouTube.com:  DeerRidgeOwners.com and HOABoardAbuse.com.  In-depth videos are being produced to fully explain, to all Owners and the World, exactly what is happening both at Deer Ridge and at other abusive HOA Board run properties across the Nation.  These videos will be posted on both DeerRidgeOwners.com and YouTube.com. 

 Stay tuned – you never know what videos might go viral!

 

share save 171 16 Date Set For Summary Judgement And Motion To Compel Filed Against GGRC, Joe Thomas And Board

Deer Ridge Mountain Resort Cited for 42 Structural Code Violations

share save 171 16 Deer Ridge Mountain Resort Cited for 42 Structural Code Violations

Deer Ridge Mountain Resort cited for 42 important structural code violations!

Below is a letter sent by the Chief Building Inspector for Sevier County notifying Joe Thomas of 42 major code violations at Deer Ridge. That’s FOUR TWO.

As I understand it, the county inspector repeatedly used the term “death trap” as he walked the property citing instance after instance of structural code violations.

These were the same structural problems that the “board” had been told about TWICE – and they chose to completely ignore the issue both times.

I don’t know about you, but to me this is crystal clear evidence of both gross incompetence AND gross negligence by Joe Thomas and the so called “board” – and will be used as such in our lawsuit against Joe Thomas, Luther Parker, Tom Reise, Larry Ohm, Margie Duncan and David Barone.

In my opinion, their lack of any and all action – even after a written inspection report by a Certified Building Inspector was provided to them over a year ago - is unconscionable and continues, to this day, to place owners and guests in needless peril.

Just so there is no misunderstanding, here is a copy of the actual letter from the Office of Sevier County Building Inspectors that was received by Joe Thomas almost a month ago:

Sevier County Building Inspection Violations3 Deer Ridge Mountain Resort Cited for 42 Structural Code ViolationsInterestingly, as of today, almost a month after the date of this letter, there is still NOTHING about these 42 code violations posted on the GGRC web site – and there has been no notice to all owners about these structural defects. 

What is posted on the front page of the GGRC web site is Luther Parker’s insightful, breaking news that the view is still good at Deer Ridge. 

Thanks, Luther.

If those who control the GGRC web site don’t disclose something as important as these kinds of structural violations to all owners – it makes me wonder what else they are NOT telling owners about their investment at Deer Ridge? 

Once Upon A Time…

Deer Ridge owner Todd Novak, who has a background in construction and real estate, had been concerned for some time about the construction problems at the property.  Using his own money, Todd had hired and paid for a building inspection company to review those construction concerns. 

You can read the whole report and see all two dozen photographs that were provided by Certified Building Inspector Daniel Gabriel by clicking “Inspection Report – Building A and E – Another Failure By Joe Thomas At Deer Ridge.”  Note that my posting to this blog, including all photos and a copy of the full written report, was provided to all owners on November 12, 2009 – only three days after the date of the report.  

The “board” was presented with this written report less than a week later at the November 2009 budget meeting.  It was even mentioned in the minutes of the meeting.  But Joey and the Gang completely ignored this report - irrespective of its potential impact on safety for every owner and visitor to Deer Ridge.

The closed and controlled GGRC Blog has yet to include a copy of either the full report or the 24 photos - anytime in the past 14 months the Gang has had that information.  Wonder why they didn’t want all owners to see that information? 

Todd, once again, brought up the matter a year later at the November 2010 budget meeting.  Not only was the matter once again rudely ignored by Joey and the Gang – but they also threatened legal action against Todd for being a trouble maker “acting in concert” with me.

This inspection was performed on November 9, 2009 – more than a YEAR ago, and Joey and the Gang have STILL done nothing about it. 

This Is No Fairy Tale

It remains to be seen what will happen as a result of these 42 structural violations now that the Sevier County government has gotten involved. 

Hopefully, the Gang’s GROSS incompetence and GROSS negligence will stop – at least on this point and these safety hazards will finally be addressed - with money being rightfully spent on this – instead of Joey wasting our money on buying $800 pumpkins for his Fall Festival. 

Besides this initial structural inspection, it is my understanding that Sevier County will be performing a detailed and comprehensive electrical inspection of Deer Ridge.  Several of us owners are highly concerned that there are multiple, major issues with the way the electrical wiring for this property has been handled – especially for the illegitimate Joe’s Folly Pavilion and the equally illegitimate annex to the maintenance building. 

Do You REALLY Want This Kind of Incompetence and Threats To Owners?

Joe Thomas, Luther Parker, Tom Reise, Larry Ohm, Margie Duncan and David Barone are the ones responsible for ignoring these dangerous, structural defects. 

  • This Gang of Six refused to do anything even after having been provided with the building inspection report submitted to them in November 2009. 
  • This Gang of Six, instead of being motivated by facts to fix serious problems at Deer Ridge, responded by threatening legal action against Todd. 
  • This Gang of Six has yet to even disclose this issue on the GGRC web site. 

I don’t know about you, but to me this is crystal clear evidence of both gross incompetence AND gross negligence by Joe Thomas and the so called “board.” 

Do YOU really want people running your Deer Ridge investment who ignore safety issues and who attempt to use coercion and intimidation of owners to keep things quiet and covered up? Are these the kind of people that YOU feel you can trust with YOUR money?

These guys depend on the Master Deed and Bylaws to indemnify them from legal actions taken as a result of their “position” with GGRC. 

What they will find, if they read the documents carefully, is that they are NOT protected in cases of gross incompetence or gross negligence.  We expect to use this debacle as another example of how this Gang of Six has evidenced an ongoing pattern of both gross incompetence AND gross negligence.

In my opinion, Joe Thomas should be fired on the spot just for this one incident – and all “board” members should summarily resign.  Of course, this is on top of all the many other reasons I’ve listed that are grounds for firing Joe Thomas.

Thanks To Todd!

Many thanks to owner Todd Novak for his diligence in pressing this matter for the safety of all owners and guests. 

Todd assures me that he will continue to pursue the structural and electrical issues that plague Deer Ridge – until they are properly and professionally solved – and that he will NOT be intimidated by Joe Thomas’ and the Gang’s attempts to silence him. 

Bravo Todd!

Stay tuned.  We live in interesting times.


share save 171 16 Deer Ridge Mountain Resort Cited for 42 Structural Code Violations

Wonder Why Your Electric Bill At Deer Ridge Is So High?

share save 171 16 Wonder Why Your Electric Bill At Deer Ridge Is So High?

Three Ways To Cut Your Electric Bill At Deer Ridge Mountain Resort

The cost of electricity has been going though the roof.  Yeah, I know, you heard it here first.

But, have you wondered why your electric bill at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort is so high?  Well, we’ve identified three possible reasons.

#1:  Apparent Theft Of Services

One of the claims that Joe Thomas, Luther Parker and the rest of the Gang of Six made in their $1 Million lawsuit against me was that I “falsely” accused them of “Theft of Services.”

Well, as the following photos show, it appears that we have “smoking gun” proof of their Theft of Services that we will probably use in court against them.

It seems to me that Joe Thomas et al have no problem with the phrase, “Mi casa es su casa.”  Rather in Joey’s case, “Su casa es mi casa”  – which means, “Your house is MY house.”

Apparently, Joey has NO compunction about entering YOUR condo to use YOUR electricity whenever it is convenient to him.  No wonder he wants a key to every unit.

It looks to me like Unit A-201 next to ours was vacant at the time and was opened so that a very long extension cord could be run to allow some of the workmen to use this Owner’s electricity.  (Plus, I can only imagine the amount of gnats and other bugs that got into their unit during the many hours the door was left open…let alone the security risks of unauthorized entry and theft of contents by any one who happened to be on property, but I digress…)

electric 3 200x300 Wonder Why Your Electric Bill At Deer Ridge Is So High? electric 4 200x300 Wonder Why Your Electric Bill At Deer Ridge Is So High?
electric 5 200x300 Wonder Why Your Electric Bill At Deer Ridge Is So High? electric 1 200x300 Wonder Why Your Electric Bill At Deer Ridge Is So High?

Maybe the A-201 Owner was contacted before the fact – but we have seen this same thing done several times before here at Deer Ridge during the past few weeks and my guess is that this is done on a very frequent basis – without even thinking and considering that owners do NOT want their electricity STOLEN without their consent.  As a matter of fact, we have seen workmen here do this same thing for EVERY walkway railing replacement done so far – using the electricity from at least 8 different owners to feed their extension cords.

You really think Joey got prior permission from all 8 owners?

I am not an attorney nor a police officer – but it seems to me, in my personal opinion, that this might, just maybe, qualify as a criminal act of theft of services, according to the following Tennessee state law: Continue reading Wonder Why Your Electric Bill At Deer Ridge Is So High?

share save 171 16 Wonder Why Your Electric Bill At Deer Ridge Is So High?

RML Lie Exposed: RML Actually Has Negative Cash Flow Of $152,000 Per Year

share save 171 16 RML Lie Exposed:  RML Actually Has Negative Cash Flow Of $152,000 Per Year

Summary:  Do you realize that HALF of all HOA fees collected each YEAR from ALL Deer Ridge Owners are illegitimately used to pay the $152,000 a year negative cash flow of RML???

No wonder we never have ANY reserves for Deer Ridge – and the illegitimate “board” tries to force all owners to fund an illegitimate $353,500 Asinine Assessment to help cover up their lie that RML fully supports itself.

I have completed a GGRC and RML budget analysis that we intend to use in our $3 million lawsuit against GGRC and Joe Thomas and the “board” – and I thought you might find it overwhelming indicative of the lies and misrepresentations that are being perpetrated here at Deer Ridge.

It shows that RML actually has, in reality, a NEGATIVE CASH FLOW of $152,000 EACH YEAR - not the $12.000 “positive” cash flow that Joe Thomas and the “board” lied to you about with the budget mailing to all owners last December.

OK.  Fair warning:  This post is all about numbers and budget analysis which I know is a total bore to many of you.  So, in an effort to make it easy for you, I am going to give you, up front, the Executive Summary and bottom line of all that follows.  All the data is there if you would like to plow through it to understand where each and every number comes from.

The key question to remember:  For every operating cost associated with Deer Ridge, would that cost, or that full cost, be there IF Deer Ridge was not operated as a motel?  Would that cost, or that full cost, be there if we were operated solely as a small, 84 unit residential condo complex owned by over 78 owners with diverse needs and goals?

Bear in mind that there is NOTHING in the Master Deed or Bylaws that indicates this property is anything other than a small, 84 unit residential condo complex – so there is nothing in our regime documents that sets Deer Ridge out as a motel or as a predominately rental property.  Therefore, when folks buy a condo at Deer Ridge, there is NOTHING in any of the legal documents that provide for RML or running the property as a motel. Each owner can choose to rent or not rent their unit out – but any and all costs associated with renting a unit is that unit’s responsibility.

Hence, the Common Expenses that are funded by all of our HOA fees can ONLY relate to operating Deer Ridge as a small, 84 unit residential condo complex.  So, the point of this analysis is to break out any and all expenses or partial expenses that would not be required of a small, 84 unit residential condo complex.

The Executive Summary – The Dirty Dozen Secrets Of RML

All of the following is my personal opinion based on my detailed analysis of the audits and budgets provided by the “board.”

Joe Thomas and Larry Ohm and the rest of the “board” have been LYING to you for years that RML is profitable – and that RML is the part of Deer Ridge that really supports the real costs here.

All of that is a lie.

  1. The real truth is that RML has a NEGATIVE CASH FLOW of over $152,000 just for 2010, assuming all the budget numbers are hit. (Last year they missed their revenue budget number by almost $100,000 – so, if they miss this year’s number by the same amount, that means the RML Negative Cash Flow could be over $252,000 just for 2010!)
  2. The 2009 actual numbers show that the NEGATIVE CASH FLOW for all of 2009 was over $130,000 according to the numbers in the audits handed out at the 2010 “Annual Meeting.”
  3. The reasons that the budget numbers and the audits show otherwise is that these guys have been playing games with at least 14 line items of expenses totaling nearly $164,000 that are falsely shown as GGRC expenses when they, in fact, have nothing to do with operating and administrating a small 84 unit residential condo community.  Those 14 line items, instead, are related to being in the motel business that is run by RML.
  4. Joey and the “board” know that the truth of this would be unacceptable to a significant number of Deer Ridge owners – so they lie to all the owners about which company is really responsible for each line item – hoping that their “artful dodger” arithmetic will go by unnoticed.  This is one of the reasons for their disinformation campaign and lies trying to discredit me – because they KNEW that I was going to expose these secrets for all Owners to see and understand.
  5. Assuming the last six years was the same level of negative cash flow for RML, then RML has squandered OVER $1 Million of our HOA fees!
  6. This is almost THREE of the current Asinine Assessments!  No wonder we don’t have any money in any of our reserve accounts!  No wonder that Deer Ridge has the HIGHEST HOA fees in the entire area.
  7. This ANNUAL NEGATIVE CASH FLOW represents over HALF of the total HOA fees collected from ALL owners at Deer Ridge – each and every year.
  8. This $152,000 NEGATIVE CASH FLOW each year equates to a cost of over $1,800 to each and every owner at Deer Ridge – including the 20 plus units that do not use RML.  If just those who use RML were to pay this $152,000 negative cash flow each year, they would have to pay $2,375 a year EXTRA just to keep RML out of bankruptcy.  If you think in terms of NET dollars to each owner per year, you can see that RML is not a good deal for ANY owner at Deer Ridge.
  9. This means that RML has wrongly robbed me of over $9,000 just for my unit during the past five years we have owned here.
  10. On top of the financial impact, RML is a illegitimately formed and operated “for profit” corporation owned by a non-profit organization.  There was never even the guise of a vote authorizing its formation – and there is zero provision in the property’s master deed and bylaws that provide even a nickel for paying for RML out of our Common Expense – and here it is, taking over HALF of our HOA fees each and every month from ALL owners.
  11. If GGRC were operated correctly, without RML, and using a professional HOA management company, GGRC would generate a POSITIVE CASH FLOW each year of over $118,000 with current HOA fees in place.  This would have equaled approximately $600,000 over the past five years!  This is almost enough to cover TWO Asinine Assessments – without requiring owners to dig in their pockets for even more money.
  12. The GGRC “board” has a fiduciary duty to ensure that GGRC, not RML,  is operated properly for ALL  Owners in accordance with the Master Deed and Bylaws.  Joe Thomas and the rest of the Gang of Six are GROSSLY violating their fiduciary duty to GGRC by trying to protect RML’s negative cash flow from being discovered – and continuing to deplete hundreds of thousands of dollars of HOA fees to do so.  It is past time to hold every member of the Gang Of Six personally and financially responsible for their wanton disregard for their fiduciary responsibility to every owner at Deer Ridge.

All owners should be outraged at this despicable lie that has been perpetrated by Joe Thomas for YEARS just for his own self-serving reasons to keep employed and paid all the money he unjustifiably gets from our small 84 unit complex.

All owners should be outraged that Luther Parker and Larry Ohm and the rest of the “board” are either so incompetent and grossly negligent to understand this – or are in collusion with Joe Thomas to intentionally misrepresent these facts to all the owners.

We expect to hold Joe Thomas and every member of the “board” fully accountable for every dollar of Owners’ money they have wasted on RML with our $3 million lawsuit – and believe that the jury in our case will have no difficulty in understanding and believing the following analysis that proves their lie – and the extent to which it has been covered up.  And, since these Dirty Dozen Secrets About RML have affected EVERY OWNER, past and present, for the last decade, this will probably be the basis for a SECOND Class Action Lawsuit against Joe Thomas the rest of the Gang of Six.

An Alternative – Professional HOA Management of Deer Ridge

My previous posting How To Fire Joe Thomas And Save GGRC Tens Of Thousands $$$ Each Year gives details on a bid we received from a professional HOA management company that specializes in providing the managerial, administrative and maintenance services required of home owner associations in the Knoxville and Gatlinburg areas.  Their bid provides for:

  • A one time set up fee of $1,680 to audit the books and records
  • A monthly management fee of $1,680 per month plus any and all late fees they collect
  • Maintenance done at $25 per hour for individual homeowners’ repairs.
  • Maintenance for common areas at $40 per hour without a maintenance contract and at $20 an hour with a maintenance contract.
  • All monthly bookkeeping included, which would also save GGRC thousands of dollars per year.
  • All personnel would be their people – not ours – so there would be no cost to us for all personnel related costs. This also means that they provide the back up folks for vacation, illness and resignations and firings.

You can see their full bid by clicking Bid and view their brochure by clicking Brochure.

Bear in mind, that all of these activities are strictly GGRC related and have nothing to do with the illegitimate RML and its’ activities.

Their company:

  • Has been providing HOA services in the area for over a dozen years.
  • Has managed over $800 million in HOA property at over 50 different locations throughout East Tennessee.
  • Has their own accounting and maintenance people along with their own lawn care experts.
  • Prepares the annual budget for the HOA.
  • Collects HOA fees and assessments.
  • Includes all the bookkeeping in their charges.
  • Generates management reports that include monthly management summaries, balance sheet, income and expense statements, budget performance, collection report and bank reconciliation.
  • They maintain the state-required HOA “Administrator’s Book” that seems to be so difficult to produce with the current management team led by “full time” General Manager Joe Thomas.

Again, you can see the whole previous posting by clicking How To Fire Joe Thomas And Save GGRC Tens Of Thousands $$$ Each Year.

By tapping the expertise of this, or some similar company, GGRC ends up with a HUGE positive cash flow each year of nearly $120,000 each year!  That kind of surplus would have been able to fully fund even the absurd Asinine Assessment of $353, 500 in under three years without the need for any additional pay in by all the owners.

Doesn’t it make sense for GGRC to have this kind of positive cash flow each year – instead of using HALF of our HOA fees each and every year from ALL owners to feed the RML negative cash flow???

The Detailed Analysis For Your Review

The following detailed analysis shows you exactly how all of the above conclusions were reached.  I invite you to pour over each of the numbers yourself so that you understand each line item and its implications for our property. Continue reading RML Lie Exposed: RML Actually Has Negative Cash Flow Of $152,000 Per Year

share save 171 16 RML Lie Exposed:  RML Actually Has Negative Cash Flow Of $152,000 Per Year

Homeowner Files $3 Million Lawsuit Against Deer Ridge Mountain Resort AKA Gatlinburg Golf and Racquet Club HOA And Individual Board Members

share save 171 16 Homeowner Files $3 Million Lawsuit Against Deer Ridge Mountain Resort AKA Gatlinburg Golf and Racquet Club HOA And Individual Board Members

In response to their meritless, retaliatory $1 Million defamation lawsuit against me, I have now  filed a $3 Million lawsuit against Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, AKA Gatlinburg Golf and Racquet Club HOA and Joe Thomas, Luther Parker, Larry Ohm, Margie Duncan, David Barone and Tom Reise, all as individuals.

The lawsuit against GGRC et al is best summed up by the following on the front page of the suit:

The Defendant would show to the Court that the Complaint filed in this cause is a retaliatory effort by an illegitimately constituted board of directors to stifle legitimate criticism of the Plaintiffs in violation of the United States and Tennessee Constitutions as well as the Defendant’s rights under the Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act, T.C.A. §48-51-101 et seq., the Tennessee Horizontal Property Act, T.C.A. §66-27 -101 et seq. as well as the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, T.C.A. §47-18-101 et seq.

The Lawsuit – The Executive Summary

The Executive Summary of our Counter Suit includes that:

  1. This will be a jury trial.
  2. All of the claims in the specious defamation lawsuit brought by the “board” be dismissed since the illegitimately constituted “board” had, and has, no authority whatsoever to bind GGRC in any action – or to waste owners’ money on a self serving lawsuit.
  3. I get all of my legal fees and court costs paid by GGRC and / or the individual board members and Joe Thomas.
  4. The Court certify our claim as a class action lawsuit – so that ALL current AND past 1-1 owners at Deer Ridge can be compensated for the discriminatory gross overcharges that the current and past “boards” have forced on all one bedroom owners.
  5. The Court declare this to be a derivative action – which means that we will represent GGRC in a lawsuit against all the individuals “board” members and Joe Thomas so that THEY pay for much of these transgressions instead of GGRC – and that they get NO indemnification protection for their illegitimate actions.
  6. We get an injunction stopping the illegitimate Asinine Assessment and forcing Joe Thomas and the “board” to turn over ALL monies to the Court that have been already collected for payments of the Asinine Assessment.  That way, those funds paid by owners are protected from being squandered by Joe Thomas and the “board.”
  7. We get a declaratory judgment that all members of the illegally constituted board be removed permanently from office.
  8. We will unwind ALL of the decisions made by all of the current and past illegitimate boards for GGRC for the past 22 years since ALL boards have been illegitimately constituted.
  9. A court appointed receiver take over all operations and management of GGRC and RML and until the Court is able to determine if GGRC should be dissolved – or that an untainted Board can be elected, with said new board receiving guidance from the Court enforcing the governing documents of GGRC.
  10. RML and Ridge Resort Realty, as illegitimate entities, be dissolved and eliminated – with all assets transferred to GGRC.
  11. The Court declares that there is no authority for GGRC to operate a rental or brokerage business and issue a permanent injunction prohibiting inclusion of any real estate rental or brokerage expenses as part of the Common Expenses.
  12. The Court rule that GGRC and the “board” participated in the “unfair and deceptive trade practice within the meaning of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, T.C.A. 47-18-101, et seq. entitling the Defendant to treble damages and attorney’s fees pursuant to T. C.A 47-18-109 for willful and knowing violations of the act. In addition, the Defendant maintains these actions by the Plaintiffs are intentional, malicious and fraudulent entitling the Defendant to punitive damages.”
  13. The Court award me compensatory damages for the illegal assessments in the amount of $1 million and punitive damages of $2 million for violations of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, for a total owed to me of $3 million, plus attorney fees, etc.
  14. The Court declare that the Master Deed Percentages MUST be followed with strict compliance with respect to ALL Common Expenses and assessments, including the water and cable bill.
  15. The Court force GGRC and Joe Thomas and all “board” members to finally abide by Tennessee state law in providing the chronological Administrators’ Book and supporting chronological vouchers, including the right to make copies of all such records.
  16. The Court issue an injunction and declaration prohibiting and restraining the board from making any alterations or additions to the Common Elements without both the 75% vote of all owners AND the 90% vote of all mortgage holders for all units at Deer Ridge.
  17. All six counter defendants, including Joe Thomas, be required to pay back the approximate $120,000 illegally spent by them on unapproved alterations and additions such as the picnic pavilion, pool building, maintenance building and office space.  This amount will probably be increased by about $50,000 as a result of Joe Thomas and the current “board” ignoring the 90% vote requirement for all mortgage holders and proceeding, without proper authority, to replace the walkway railings that are currently under construction at Deer Ridge.

The above are my non-attorney opinions and interpretations of the $3 million lawsuit.  There are other, significant nuances and major impacts to GGRC that are contained in our counter suit.  I invite all owners to click Counterclaim to read the entire lawsuit and interpret the paragraphs for yourself.

Some Of The Goals Of Our Counter Suit

So, basically, if we win, our just filed lawsuit will hopefully accomplish ALL of the following:

  • We will do away with RML and Ridge Resort Realty as illegitimate entities and stop the $152,000 a year loss to GGRC each year.
  • We will force GGRC to abide by the Master Deed Percentages and stop overcharging the 30 1-1 owners by 82% each month.
  • We will stop the Asinine Assessment – including an injunction stopping the illegitimate filing of liens and potential foreclosure of owners’ units and any illegal interference with the use of the Common Elements.
  • We will unwind many, if not all, of the decisions made by ALL the illegitimate boards for the past 22 years.
  • We will force Joe Thomas and the “board” members to pay back all of the money squandered on unapproved projects including the current walkway railing project.
  • We will create a class action lawsuit for all past and present 1-1 owners who have been financially discriminated against with gross overcharges.
  • We will force Joe Thomas and the “board” out of power and control on this property.
  • We will force Joe Thomas and the “board” to finally abide by state law and provide copies of the Administrator’s Book to any and all owners.
  • We will keep Joe Thomas and the “board” from continuing to illegally expend major funds on unapproved projects, forcing them to personally pay back those funds to GGRC.
  • We will prove their defamation suit to be worthless and a waste of GGRC money.
  • $3 million plus legal fees will be paid back to us for the “board’s” deceptive trade practices and for some of the abuses, including the abuse of power and capricious and arbitrary decisions that Joe Thomas and all those illegitimate boards have tried to enforce for the past six years we’ve owned here.
  • By making this a derivative action, we hope to make GGRC the plaintiff and Joe Thomas and Luther Parker, Larry Ohm, Margie Duncan, David Barone and Tom Reise, all as individual defendants, pay most if not all of the above.

Stay tuned for a LOT more about this over the coming weeks.  But I wanted to let you all know about this – and give you all a copy of the Counter Suit as quickly as possible.

Interesting Times

Be sure and watch for the upcoming post where I will show you how Joe Thomas and the “board” have been lying to you about RML being a positive cash flow company.  Stay tuned for the right numbers that will show how RML is losing $152,000 a year in NEGATIVE CASH FLOW right out of ALL of our pockets!

And, speaking of numbers…all of the above does NOT include potential, additional, significant legal actions that may be required against certain individuals once we start looking over EVERY entry in the REAL Administrator’s books and records…and the front and back of every check…for the last 10 years…

“There is a Chinese curse which says ‘May he live in interesting times.’  Like it or not, we live in interesting times.”  Robert Kennedy.

The next few months at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort are guaranteed to be “interesting times” for many. Continue reading Homeowner Files $3 Million Lawsuit Against Deer Ridge Mountain Resort AKA Gatlinburg Golf and Racquet Club HOA And Individual Board Members

share save 171 16 Homeowner Files $3 Million Lawsuit Against Deer Ridge Mountain Resort AKA Gatlinburg Golf and Racquet Club HOA And Individual Board Members

Deer Ridge Board's Latest Attack Letter - The Facts

share save 171 16 Deer Ridge Boards Latest Attack Letter   The Facts

Well, the illegitimate “board” is at it again – continuing their ongoing attempts to coerce and intimidate ANY and ALL owners who dare to object to their abuse of power and attempts to continue their illegal fiefdom by breaking both Deer Ridge Law and Tennessee State Law.

This time, it is yet another mailing to the entire ownership at Deer Ridge, wasting ALL of our money, with Joey and the “board” trying desperately to hold on to their positions.

They are so panicked by so many owners who are starting to see “the light” that the Asinine Assessment is invalid and that the “board” itself is illegitimate.  Since the “board” is continuing to violate Tennessee State Law by blocking access to the books and records, it isn’t clear how many of us have not paid their special assessment.  But our guess is that there is a SIGNIFICANT number who refuse to pay.  So, their threats and attempted intimidation have increased.

Let’s dissect the latest Luther letter attacking me so we can all find out the real truth.

First Point

Board attack letter 033010 1 Deer Ridge Boards Latest Attack Letter   The Facts

As you can see, they are trying deflection as a defense against their own illegal activity. Luther, you ought to know all about Deflection Defense Mechanisms as a common “reactive” response to feedback.  I give you guys feedback you are breaking the law and violating the Deer Ridge Master Deed and Bylaws – and you all try to deflect it by claiming now that I am somehow doing something illegal.

They aren’t trying to protect the owners – they are spending OUR money on legal fees to protect and cover their own collective asses.  They already know when this thing goes to trial that their stretched and flawed misinterpretations of the Deer Ridge Documents will NOT stand up to the light of day. Continue reading Deer Ridge Board’s Latest Attack Letter – The Facts

share save 171 16 Deer Ridge Boards Latest Attack Letter   The Facts