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!
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
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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.
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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?
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.
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.
Below is a copy of an email that was sent to Joe Thomas and the “board” at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.
We believe that Joe Thomas continues his attempted harassment, intimidation and discrimination against any and all resident owners at Deer Ridge who in any way reduces his income from the illegitimate RML motel rental activities.
Judge For Yourself
To: Joe Thomas and “Board”
Re: Two Letters Regarding Our Handling Of Noisy, Obnoxious Tourists
We received your specious letters of August 5, 2011 and August 24, 2011 complaining about my approach to handling noisy, obnoxious tourists who stay in Unit A-302 at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.
Neither of your letters are worth my time to point out the countless factual errors and false allegations and spurious assertions that have zero merit…but let me clarify some points for you and the “board” that pertain to this subject:
I view these letters for what they are: part of an ongoing pattern of attempted harassment and intimidation by you and the “board” in order to continue your discrimination against any and all resident owners at Deer Ridge who in any way reduces your income from the illegitimate RML motel rental activities.
We have been told by four tourists in the past six weeks that you are offering a “reward”, incentive or other kinds of compensation in exchange for those tourists generating a positive, glowing report on their stay at Deer Ridge. Besides the clear lack of any ethical moral compass in your even attempting to bribe tourists to give these glowing reports, it strongly emphasizes what I personally believe to be fact: That you continue to flood travel sites with these kinds of bogus reports in order to bury the many negative reports that honest tourists file regarding their stay at Deer Ridge.
Likewise, because of what we see as proof of your tourist report manipulation, we believe that the one that you included in the August 5th letter could have been equally manipulated to misrepresent the truth in order to harass me as a resident owner. I even find that the wording of the tourist complaint smacks of being coached for compensation.
I do continue to note that when the property is almost completely vacant, all the tourists seem to be magically clustered in the A Building, based on parking hangers in the windshields…whereas almost all of C and D Buildings are completely vacant.
Once we get the books and records, we plan on investigating the statistical spreads of rental nights to see if there is, indeed, a pattern of dumping as many tourists as possible in units close to resident owners. If this is, indeed, being done, it is not only more proof of ongoing discrimination against resident owners…but it is also robbing owners in the C and D Buildings of their proportionate share of rental income.
We have also been told by three recent tourists that stayed in Unit A-302 that they knew we were owners. We find this highly suspicious since there is nothing whatsoever on our door that indicates in any way that we are owners. Hence, the only way these tourists could have known that fact was that they were told that during some kind of discussion with the office staff or with you. Besides the obvious increased risk factors to us and the safety of our home created by this kind of inappropriate disclosure, we see this as signs of yet more slander and discrimination against resident owners.
This further supports our strong suspicion that you are willfully and intentionally placing tourists above us who may be instructed, and rewarded, to be especially obnoxious when it comes to being noisy. This would be consistent with what we have been told by prior resident owners here at Deer Ridge that were equally convinced of your attempted harassment and intimidation in order to discriminate against any and all resident owners.
Additionally, we are not constrained by your methodology to deal with obnoxious tourist behavior.
Your “quiet hours” are only a subset of our quiet hours. As a disabled, senior citizen who is home most of the time, my quiet hours are more extensive. As such, I am investigating my legal rights under federal and state fair housing laws that prohibit any discrimination against the disabled and the elderly by you and the “board.”
In fact, I have the legal right to the peaceful and quiet enjoyment of my home ALL the time.
We find that the tourists at Deer Ridge pretty much follow the usual 80%/20% rule. 80% of the tourists are considerate and accommodating once we let them know that the foot fall problem is so bad here due to design issues of the entire property.
We find that knocking on the ceiling once or twice is usually sufficient for reasonable parents to keep their kids from running and jumping around in A-302.
Other times, we find that giving them the one page note that you found so objectionable solves the problem. (Since you erroneously consider it a “sign” that somehow violates the Master Deed and Bylaws, we will either hand it to them directly or leave it as a letter in an envelope for them. Frankly, this same note should be framed and hung in every rental property so that tourists understand the problem since so many complaints regarding foot fall noise have been listed on Trip Advisors, Expedia, etc.)
When the above does not work, I will continue to pound harder and more frequently on our ceiling and I will be forced to increase my direct confrontations with these obnoxious, inconsiderate tourists as I see fit in my sole discretion within the legal constraints of local and state law.
Since you find my one page note so objectionable, I will, from now on, immediately call the Pittman Center Police Department for help in cases of someone as objectionable as the tourist mentioned in your August 5th letter.
We have never benefited from any noise relief by calling the office and will not waste our time with that approach any more. We have received immense help and support on Deer Ridge noise problems with the Pittman Center Police.
Our objections to noise are not solely focused on tourists. As you know, there is another resident in our building who is notorious for noise and a blaring radio on her balcony. When other approaches would not work, I finally called the Pittman Police Department on May 24th. I had recorded the incident on video and the police officer graciously heard our complaint and immediately dealt with this owner. In the nearly 100 days since the police call, there has been zero noise problem from this other owner. If she causes a problem again, even once, we will not hesitate to immediately call the police again, including filing a complaint for prosecution. (You are welcome to view the filed police report if you wish.)
The police officer made it clear that it is part of his job to deal with noise issues at Deer Ridge and urged us to immediately call regarding ANY noise problems we have at this property.
As a consequence, from now on, if we ever have another obnoxious tourist above us who does not immediately cease and desist their noise causing activities, I will once again call the Pittman Center Police Department.
Likewise, if you EVER rent to a group who hires a band to play in the pavilion again, we will immediately call the Pittman Center Police Department. We don’t care how many drunken golfers you may have rented units to. We don’t care what you may deem to be quiet hours. We don’t care how much money you or RML make from the pavilion rental. It will never be tolerated again.
Whether you like it or not, the above is OUR legal and legitimate methodology for dealing with noise issues at Deer Ridge.
I hereby demand that you and the “board” immediately:
Stop any and all harassment of any and all resident owners at Deer Ridge.
Stop trying to unethically manipulate reviews of Deer Ridge.
Stop any and all slander of us or other resident owners to tourists. No tourist has any need to know who is an owner here.
We also demand that you stop any intentionally noisy or potentially noisy tourists from staying in Unit A-302. With all the vacancies at Deer Ridge, it is easy enough to direct them to units above empty condos.
After all, I doubt you want to have a police officer, with uniform, badge and gun, show up knocking on doors at Deer Ridge – or showing up at some drunken party at the pavilion.
Who knows what kind of reviews those kinds of confrontations might generate?
Joe, now that you know MY methodology on noise control, and MY approach to ensure that I have peace and quiet in my own home, I hope you will begin to govern yourself accordingly.
And, if you can’t seem to control yourself, I hope that the “board” will help you understand the implications of all of the above.
cc: Deer Ridge Owners Blog
PS: Naturally, all of the above is my own personal opinion. Please see disclaimer below.
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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: This email, 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.
David Barone, Secretary of the GGRC Board of Directors, lied to you and all other owners at Deer Ridge about the status of our counterclaim $3 million lawsuit.
In the recent mailing to all owners at Deer Ridge, David Barone made the following statement in the Annual Meeting minutes on his OWN report, ”On April 26, 2011, Judge Rex Henry Ogle dismissed Robert Goodman’s counterclaim.”
This is actually a double lie: David Barone, as Secretary, was reporting on what David Barone said in the meeting. Here is the excerpt from the mailing:
This statement, marked in yellow, is a lie. Want proof?
How Many Lies Have There Been? How Many More Will They Make?
As you can see below, the Judge did NOT dismiss our counterclaim and Barone’s lie is at best a categorical and self-serving misrepresentation of the facts. At worse, it is just that much more malicious disinformation and false propaganda that is spread by the “board” in their ongoing efforts to maintain their fiefdom and to keep us in the motel business – no matter how much it is bankrupting our HOA.
To me, the David Barone lie about the dismissal of our counterclaim is on a par with the Larry Ohm, CPA and Treasurer, lie that RML is a money maker for GGRC. Please click Liar Larry for all the details about THAT lie – and how he is finally being forced to admit in front of God and everyone that RML is losing LOTS of money for ALL owners at Deer Ridge.
It kind of makes you wonder how many other statements by Larry Ohm, Luther Parker, Joe Thomas and the rest of the Gang of Six might, just maybe, be even more lies. This includes all that they say, all that they write and all that they claim are supposed to be accurate minutes of the meetings and accurate accounting. And, with David Barone being the Secretary who is supposed to accurately report all meeting minutes, it kind of makes you wonder about EVERYTHING that he writes.
You can decide for yourself…but my personal opinion about all six of them: “If their lips are moving…” and also, in this case, “If their fingers are typing…”
The REAL Status Of The Lawsuit – Part 1 – New Motion To Void The Asinine Assessment
Part 1 of the REAL status on the lawsuit is that we have JUST filed a follow up motion for a partial summary judgement against GGRC and these same individual “board” members under the SAME counterclaim.
In this instance, the new motion deals specifically with my defense for the “board’s” lawsuit against me for my complete and total non-payment of the “special assessment.”
If you click on the below image, you can download the full 17 page motion to see just how much Barone’s statement was false. Note that this is still the SAME case number!
Note the parts highlighted in yellow – showing that the file date was May 25, 2011 – nearly a month after David Barone falsely claimed that the Judge dismissed our counterclaim. Does that look like it was dismissed to you…or do you agree with me that David Barone, and probably the whole “board”, was lying to you with his rendition of the minutes?
The above is the first page of the motion for partial summary judgement in which we are defending ourselves on the “special assessment” lawsuit on two fundamental issues:
That the percentage used to calculate every one’s proper pro rata share is wrong.
That the “board” ignored the required 90% mortgagee vote requirement for all improvements and alterations.
The motion requests that the Judge review the Master Deed and Bylaws of GGRC and, based on his interpretation of these documents, void the “special assessment” and rule against GGRC on their lawsuit against me regarding my non-payment.
Get Ready For A “Run On The Bank” If We Win This Partial Summary Judgment On Voiding The Special Assessment
If we win just one of the two major defenses in this partial summary judgment AND win this one part of our ongoing lawsuit, it may probably have the effect of negating the “special assessment” for everyone – especially those who push the issue in Court like we have.
The problem for the “board” is that they and Joey have already spent your money!
In our case, we already have our money – because we were smart enough to not pay it to them in the first place. For all owners who have paid, if we win even one of the two points, I would recommend that you hurry up and get in line to get your money back as soon as you can.
Note: I am NOT an attorney and do not give legal advice ever. Period.
However, from a business perspective, I would strongly advise you try and get your special assessment back ASAP. You might consider taking the above 17 page document to your own attorney and have them use this as the basis of your own lawsuit against GGRC and the board for recovering your own two payments made on the “special assessment.” By using our document as a starting point, you might be able to save yourself some legal fees.
Better yet, and even cheaper, see the other solution below.
Repayment of $200,000 By Board Members As Individuals
If we win on the 90% mortgagee issue on this motion for partial summary judgement, it is my hope that this will make the individual board members personally responsible to repay the more than $92,000 (26% of the total “special assessment”) that was illegitimately spent on the walkways and lighting improvements and alterations since their actions were ultra vires.
Of course, this partial summary judgement ruling will just deal with the $92,000 of illegitimate Article XII funds that have been spent without proper authority. Based on my initial analysis of several expenditures made by the board, I calculate that all illegitimate Article XII funds spent already exceeds $200,000. These are monies that required a 75% vote of ALL owners AND the vote of 90% of ALL the mortgage holders for all mortgages at Deer Ridge.
My personal goal if we win on this 75% / 90% issue is to force the individual board members to repay ALL $200,000 back to GGRC along with interest, etc. with our derivative action part of our countersuit.
The REAL Status Of The Lawsuit – Part 2 – Derivative Action
The judge did not dismiss the lawsuit…but he did rule that, for the declaratory judgement part of our counterclaim, we are required to either make all owners a party to the lawsuit, ie, sue all owners, or to get 5% of the voting shares to join with us as a co-plaintiff so that we qualify as a derivative action suit…so the Judge will rule on the declaratory motions we have filed such as RML is illegitimate and squandering half of each month’s HOA fees every month for every owner.
Because of the actions and objections filed by the “board”, we don’t have any choice but to immediately have 4-7 owners join my lawsuit as co-plaintiffs to get us to a total of at least 8 votes out of the 154 available votes in GGRC in order to meet the requirements of a derivative action suit against the individual board members for their violations of the Master Deed and Bylaws and Tennessee state law.
For our derivative action part of the lawsuit, the Judge is requiring us to go ahead and document that at least 5% of the ownership is in favor of the issues we want heard in our lawsuit, e.g., to stop RML from taking half of each month’s HOA fees from EVERY owner to feed it negative cash flow and to stop them from raising every one’s HOA fees by $70 a month as proposed by Larry Ohm in the last board meeting a couple of weeks ago.
This required 5% is something, with your help, that I hope we can do ASAP.
The good news is that we already have 7 votes in hand! With ONE other owner, we get to the required 8 votes.
But this derivative action suit will ONLY work if one other owner will agree to immediately join in as a co-plaintiff.
Below is the one page document drafted by our attorney for other owners to join the litigation as a co-plaintiff so we can finally get these issues resolved. This is the same signed document we have in hand representing 7 votes by Deer Ridge owners. As you will see, there is no cost obligation to you – unless you want to consult directly with the attorney for some reason.
Do You Want To See The REAL Books And Records Of GGRC and RML?
Do you want a copy of all the GGRC and RML books and records it’s taken me nearly six years to get? Would you like to help stop RML from squandering half of our monthly HOA fees that are bankrupting GGRC?
Unfortunately, the Judge ruled in favor of Joey and the board regarding their request for a “protective order.” With the protective order in place, I won’t be able to share with other owners ANY of the books and records, email correspondence, payroll information, RML rental info or other information, unless you are a co-plaintiff by signing the above form.
On top of that, I can’t even discuss my findings with you. Even if I were, hypothetically speaking, to uncover major fraud or other malfeasance, I couldn’t tell all the Deer Ridge owners what I found. That’s what Joey and the board want with their protective order.
We hope to get the Judge to change this at a future hearing but that is the current status. I STRONGLY believe that ALL owners should have a right to see the books and records for Deer Ridge but I have to abide by the Judge’s ruling.
The important thing you should be asking yourself is WHY?
Why is it that Joey and the board have fought tooth and nail for nearly six years against providing copies of the REAL books and records to ANY owner in the format that is REQUIRED by Tennessee state law?
Why is it that Joey and the board have pushed so hard for the protective order to keep us from sharing these documents with all other Deer Ridge owners?
What are they SO afraid that owners will discover and uncover once they have complete access to copies of the REAL books and records?
Why shouldn’t YOU have a right to see the REAL books and records on your investment at Deer Ridge?
The good news is that we have figured out a legitimate, no cost, way around the games that Joey and the board have been playing to prevent you and other Deer Ridge owners from seeing the books and records.
All you have to do is complete the above form and mail or fax it to me so that you join our counterclaim as a co-plaintiff at zero cost to you.
As a co-plaintiff, you will get to see EVERYTHING that I get to see with our court ordered production of documents. We also, along with your fellow co-plaintiffs, will be able to fully discuss what we discover and uncover – and together develop the best strategies and tactics for our next steps to protect all of our investments in Deer Ridge.
If this sounds good to you, please complete the above form and fax, email or mail me the completed document TODAY. Click Contact to email me any questions your have or to get my fax number for your completed form.
Together, we can finally hold this Gang of Six accountable…stop the lies, see the REAL books and records and increase the market value of our property.
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.
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.
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 viresacts 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 viresviolations 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 fornine 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.
Motion For Summary Judgement & Temporary Injunction - Click For Document
Motion To Compel - Click For Document
Motion To Dismiss and Judgment on Pleadings - Click For Document
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!
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:
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 awhopping 82% every single month!
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 hemorrhageof 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 forseven 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.
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!
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:
This will be a jury trial.
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.
I get all of my legal fees and court costs paid by GGRC and / or the individual board members and Joe Thomas.
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.
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.
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.”
We get a declaratory judgment that all members of the illegally constituted board be removed permanently from office.
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.
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.
RML and Ridge Resort Realty, as illegitimate entities, be dissolved and eliminated – with all assets transferred to GGRC.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Independent Legal Opinion: GGRC “Board” Guilty Of Numerous Violations / $353,500 Assessment Is Null And Void
The following is a copy of an email sent to Luther Parker, other “board” members and Joe Thomas on February 18, 2010 describing the legal findings of a real estate law firm concerning Gatlinburg Golf and Racquet Club – GGRC – and its subsidiaries RML and Ridge Resort Realty.
The findings of the law firm will probably change EVERYTHING about the way Deer Ridge is operated and managed.
Luther and the Board:
As I mentioned during the Special Meeting of February 6, 2010, I had personally hired a Knoxville-based real estate law firm to review many of the major conflicts and issues that have arisen between myself (and other owners) versus the Board, Joe Thomas and the decisions and policies you have been attempting to implement.
My instructions to the law firm, Howard and Howard ( www.howardhowardlaw.com/ ) and Senior Partner Lewis Howard, Jr. were to objectively and candidly evaluate these issues with the goal of determining the legal validity and the merits of our pursuing a lawsuit against GGRC and/or the individuals who make up the current board along with Joe Thomas, the general manager. This firm does not currently represent us for any pending litigation – but may be hired should we move forward.
The full legal opinion I received from them is attached to this email – with each and every part shown and discussed below – with my comments for each section. Note: I am not an attorney and do not practice law – so these are my interpretations of the sections of the attorney’s letter – trying to convey the realistic meaning from the necessary legalese.
Executive Summary Of Attorney’s Findings
For those who prefer to start with an executive summary, here are the bottom line findings by the attorney with regard to GGRC and the actions of the “Board” and Joe Thomas:
You are REQUIRED to charge all owners ONLY in accordance with the Master Deed Percentages for everything: monthly assessments, water, cable TV, etc. This means no more 82% overcharge to all 1-1 owners.
You are REQUIRED to provide all owners with COPIES of everything they request including invoices, check stubs, bids, etc.
You are REQUIRED to get BOTH the 75% positive vote by owners AND the 90% positive vote by mortgage holders of all condo loans at Deer Ridge. Therefore, ANY monies you spend on walkway ramps will be your personal responsibility to pay.
You are NOT allowed to ever have ANY special assessments – hence, the Asinine Assessment of $353,500 is NULL and VOID. No owners are required to fund a penny of this money – and any monies received MUST be returned to those owners who have already paid.
You and other board members are going to be liable to repay ALL overcharges to both current and past 1-1 owners, along with interest. (This means you will be required to pay us back over $10,000 in our case – and more or less the same to other 1-1 owners – past AND present.)
RML and Ridge Resort Realty are NOT legitimate – and must pay back every penny of GGRC’s money ever used for them – and these companies must be expeditiously sold.
All “annual meetings” held in April are not official Annual Meetings – hence, all decisions, and votes made, INCLUDING board member elections, are NULL and VOID. This means that Luther Parker and every other member of the “board” are, in fact, NOT members of the Board and have no power whatsoever including setting assessments, making special assessments, setting rules and regulations, agreeing to any contracts about anything, etc. We will sue to have a special master appointed by the court.
No board member or committee member may receive ANY compensation INCLUDING reimbursements for travel, meals, maid service, free storage or special remodeling of board member’s OR committee member’s units. When we do our review of the books and records, we are going to add up every penny that has ever been paid and individually sue each of you for the full and complete reimbursement of all of this money.
The entire current “board” has committed multiple ultra vires acts that were outside the scope of authority granted you by the Master Deed and Bylaws even if you were a legitimate board. As such, these acts show gross negligence on your part and on the part of your “unified board that speaks with one voice.” As noted in the attorney’s answer to Question 12, these illegitimate acts of yours are actionable with all monies recoverable from you and all other “board members” and Joe Thomas personally – probably on a “joint and several” basis. That means we are going to go after the FULL amount for each illegitimate act from you and each of the board members until we collect EVERY penny that was spent on decisions that were outside the scope of authority. Based on my prior blog postings, I have already identified over $120,000 that has been spent without the proper Article XII approvals.
Those are pretty much the highlights – and as you can see, most of the above will have a MASSIVE impact on GGRC, RML, Ridge Resort Realty and each member of the “board” personally. It will also rightfully put $10,000, more or less, back into the pockets of all PAST AND PRESENT 1-1 owners who join with us in the lawsuit against those responsible for our gross overcharge of fees.
The above issues are the way things SHOULD have been done all along – and we WILL hold those accountable who have capriciously and arbitrarily chosen to ignore the controlling documents of Deer Ridge and GGRC Regime.
You all will NOT be able to claim ignorance on these issues – all of these issues have been brought to your attention multiple times over multiple years.
What Say You Luther?
You are hereby put on notice to immediately resolve all of the above issues.
If you do not, one of our expected remedies will be to file a derivative action suit on behalf of GGRC naming each of you, individually, as defendants in that lawsuit. This particular lawsuit will allow us to recover funds from all of you, individually, and require that the entire board be fired, with cause, for gross negligence. And, since this will be GGRC suing you, none of you will be able to use any past or current attorney who has represented GGRC.
Another legal action we intend to take will be to immediately gain an injunction blocking the special assessments and inter-pleading any and all funds already received to a court controlled account. Another legal action we intend to take will be a declaratory judgment suit over the above interpretations of the Master Deed and Bylaws.
Another legal action we intend to take will be for multiple past and current 1-1 owners, such as myself, to sue the board members, individually, for the 82% overcharge of all costs going back for years. Other, additional litigation is planned as needed. Bear in mind that we intend to also sue each of you for full recovery of all of our legal and court costs – and since it is fairly apparent we will win the issues, we expect to win on the legal fee recovery too.
Discovery motions will be immediately made that will require GGRC to turn over COPIES of ALL books and records related to GGRC and RML, et al.
So, Luther, are you going to continue to try to self-servingly block full and complete implementation of all of the above issues – or do you want to save everyone time, hassle and money by settling all of these issues here and now before we take the next steps? If you attempt to delay the above by squandering GGRC money for legal fees to protect yourself and other board members and Joe Thomas, you will be held accountable for this waste of money also.
You have THREE DAYS to satisfactorily respond to this email before I move forward with the necessary steps to accomplish all of the above. This process will start with a postal mailing to all owners, providing them with a copy of the attorney’s letter, advising them that they should not make any assessment payments and asking for them to join with me as co-plaintiffs against you and the rest of the “board.”
So, what say you, Luther? How do you want to get to the inevitable Point B?
The Attorney Letter – And Analysis
The following dissects the letter from the attorney with snapshots of each part of the entire document.
We have a new, major document you can download from the “Documents You Can Download” Section in the left column of this blog – or by clicking Deer Ridge History 1987-2006.
This document is a complete scan of one Deer Ridge owner’s notebook of all his documents related to GGRC and RML from 1987 through 2006.
This may or may not be comprehensive – there were probably other documents during that time frame that didn’t make its way into this notebook.
However, as hard as Joe Thomas and the Board make it for owners to get copies of anything, we thought it would be worth the hours of effort it took us to scan in these 432 pages of history – so that all owners could have a digital version of their own. This way, this information will never get lost, misplaced or destroyed – but live on forever – making folks accountable.
Volume 2 Coming Soon
We have a second, similar sized notebook from the same source that we are just starting to scan. It covers 2007 to the present day.
This will take both of us about the same 4 hours to scan in, convert to text, etc. As soon as we have it, we will also post it here on www.DeerRidgeOwners.com as a “Document You Can Download.”
Totally Searchable Documents
In case you don’t know, if you download this document or any of the Acrobat files we provide and add it on your own computer’s hard drive, you can do key word and key phrase searches of the entire document!
When we do these scans, we take the time to convert them into text. It slows things down a lot – but it makes these documents a highly usable gold mind of information.
For example, if you search this document for the term, “Joe Thomas” you find his full name occurs 222 times and the word “Joe” occurs 389 times. And that is just before 2007. Likewise, the word “assessment” occurs 59 times.
How Many Smoking Guns Can You Find?
We have already spotted several “smoking guns” – which Joey and the Board are going to have a VERY hard time refuting since we plan on also using these documents in our upcoming litigation.
We have just been presented with two massive notebooks of historical documents on Deer Ridge that date back to about the time the property was built!
This 11″ stack of papers make absolutely fascinating reading – board minutes, incorporation papers for RML, annual meeting presentations, promises, excuses, provisional hiring, political force outs, side deals – the list goes on.
We have already begun the process of scanning ALL of this in as an Acrobat file that will be available to ALL owners.
This is a massive and time consuming project for both Jan and me – but we are doing this as a service to all owners at Deer Ridge – and will be adding this file to our “Documents You Can Download” section on the blog in the next couple of weeks – as soon as our schedules allow.
We have already found a couple of MAJOR “smoking guns” that will be used in our upcoming litigation. The great thing about it being totally digital is that it is easy for all owners to have a copy – and also easy for us to send a copy to our attorney and to the Court.
Another great thing, in case you don’t know this: Once it is scanned into Acrobat, it performs a complete OCR – making every bit of the documents keyword searchable! (You have to download the file and open the file with the free version of Acrobat to use this function – but it works GREAT!)
That means that, on any of the Acrobat documents I have done for Deer Ridge, you can type in whatever keyword or key phrase that interests you – and immediately find all occurrences of interesting phrases like, Joe Thomas, assessments, walkways, master deed, etc.
Try it, you will like it.
Anyway, just wanted to give everyone a head’s up for these coming attractions.
Watch for the smoke – so you will really know “who done it.”
I want to thank the growing number of owners at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort who are supporting this blog and its primary goals. Those goals include making GGRC and RML transparent, accountable and compliant with the controlling documents of our property: The Master Deed and Bylaws.
These documents are the “law of the land” for Deer Ridge – and these “laws” have been systematically, substantively and repeatedly violated by Joe Thomas and the current and past boards of Deer Ridge. As more of you have become acquainted with these laws and your rights as owners, as a result of this blog, your sense of outrage over these ongoing, intentional violations by Joe Thomas and the Board has joined with the voices of other owners who are now demanding long needed changes be made immediately at Deer Ridge.
This growing, vocal demand has finally gotten a response from Joe Thomas and the Board.
You will be receiving an unsigned letter purportedly from the GGRC / RML Board of Directors concerning some of my efforts to accomplish the above goals. Not surprisingly, their 8 page letter is solely focused on their ongoing villainization and disinformation about me that has been going on for years – attacking me and my ever constant demand for implementing the above goals.
Fortunately, so many of you have started to call, email and otherwise voice your own demands to Joe Thomas and the board that the Deer Ridge Owners Blog goals be met, that they have felt compelled to generate this most recent attack letter in an attempt to deflect the growing complaints against the old way, their way, of doing things.
Here’s a hint for Joey and the Board: Your attempted deflection won’t work. Your violations of Deer Ridge Law will no longer be tolerated.
Joey And The Board Have No Authority To Be Thought Police Overseeing All Owners At Deer Ridge
Joey and the Board continue to believe that they are the ONLY people who can have an opinion about Deer Ridge and its operations…and they consistently set out to attempt to discredit and alienate ANY owner who does not agree to abide by their warped sense of proprietary and priorities.
My guess is that many other owners would agree with me that the board is completely out of line trying to censure ANY owner from expressing their rights to freedom of thought and expression. For some reason, Joey and this board think it is alright to try and tell an owner how to think and behave – even when they have no authority whatsoever to do so.
Thought Police is NOT one of the authorized duties of either the general manager or the board.
The board members, as individual owners, have a right to their own ideas and opinions – but have ZERO right as the board of directors to use HOA fees to prepare and mail out any document on GGRC letterhead attempting to censure individual owners for expressing their opinion.
If individual board members wish to mail all owners their PERSONAL opinion about me or anything else, they are welcome to do so – WITHOUT using GGRC letterhead and without HOA fees being used for the postage.
Here’s another hint for Joey and the Board: A growing number of us will no longer tolerate your attempts to control and intimidate owners.
Your lies and secretive actions will see the light of day and be fully exposed for the coordinated deception they are. Each owner is fully entitled to their own ideas and opinions regarding Deer Ridge – and no one is required to follow your dictatorial wishes with regard to their opinions about Joe Thomas and the board and use and enjoyment of THEIR property as long as they abide by the Master Deed and Bylaws. And no where in those controlling documents are you empowered in any way to be Thought Police for every owner at Deer Ridge.
However…all owners have a right to demand COMPLETE transparency about the way their investment is being handled – and to demand that the elected board provide that transparency AND that the board abide FULLY with the controlling documents that are part of the purchase documents for each and every condo at Deer Ridge. Every owner has the right to demand full accountability of Joe Thomas as general manger and every board member to account for every penny – and follow every article and bylaw of our controlling documents.
As such, I demand that Joe and each board member reimburse GGRC for the time, postage and all other expenses incurred as a result of them sending this completely inappropriate attack letter to all owners and to go on record apologizing for completely overstepping their authority with their letter of attempted intimidation and censure.
If you want to send the same letter to every owner again, fine – but have the forthrightness to send it yourself, under your individual signature, using your own postage. Don’t hide behind some unsigned letter and charge all owners. Or, set up your own private blog at your own cost, unaffiliated with Deer Ridge management, and rant away to your heart’s content.
Welcome To New Visitors To This Blog
Most of you who are regular readers of this blog are already aware of the multitude of mistakes, errors and misrepresentations, intentional or otherwise, that are contained in this most recent attack letter. However, since their letter references our blog so many times, I am hopeful that many of you now reading this posting are here for the first time, trying to find out for yourselves if the claims in the attack letter are true. If you are here for the first time…or the first time in a long time, welcome!
I invite you to read all the postings and all the many dozens of comments made by your fellow owners at Deer Ridge. I also invite you to join in the dialogue by registering and adding your own comments to each individual posting that interests you.
Unlike the new Joe Thomas and Board Blog, where they do not allow ANY comments and discussions by owners, but only post their own propaganda, this Deer Ridge Owners blog is specifically set up to give ALL owners a voice in their property and investment in Deer Ridge.
In the last three months since it started, this blog has had over 2,800 unique visitors, many visiting multiple times, with over 20,000 page views, 7,200 search engine robot visits and over 3,400 feeds. We continue to average about 1,500 visits a month to the blog. Not bad for zero advertising and a small 84 unit property!
Some Points of Issue With Their Current Attack Letter
There are SO many errors, false statements, half-truths in the board’s attack letter, I won’t bore you with refuting them all except to ask you to explore this massive blog to find your own answers. However, some of the points are so flagrant, I will respond to the following, along with providing specific links where you can get more information to make your own decisions.
Watch your mail. You will be getting a copy of the latest diatribe from President Luther Parker – this one regarding the Walkway Railing Alteration. To read Luther’s letter now, just click Fiasco or check under Documents You Can Download located in the left column of this blog.
Joey and The Board Finally Understand PART of Article XII
Readers of this blog know that I have been pushing hard for the Board and Joey to abide by the rules of the Master Deed and Bylaws. Readers also know that one part of that push has been with regard to Article XII – which requires, in part, that 75% of all owners have to give PRIOR approval for any alterations or improvements.
The Board APPEARS to finally understand that they cannot do anything they want with our money. We, the owners, are suppose to have a vote – and the final say. If the Board had enjoyed this epiphany earlier and had followed this REQUIREMENT as they should have, then we would not have squandered $80,000 of OUR money on Joe’s Folly Pavilion. Nor, would we have spent another $40,000 PLUS for pool area and office alterations and building additions to the Maintenance Building.
All of these improvements were done illegally – without the 75% vote of the owners – and Joey and the Board have now admitted their GUILT with the request for the vote they just mailed you.
If the Board is requiring the 75% vote for the walkway railing alteration – then why was it not done for the $120,000 of wasted money for the above projects???
The fact that they are NOW requiring this vote for this alteration is clear cut proof that Joey and the past and current Boards are GUILTY of multiple violations of this very Article and should be held accountable AND liable to ALL the owners for their gross incompetence and gross negligence for having already squandered so much of the owners’ money that otherwise could pay for the maintenance that really needs to be done at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.
I don’t know about you all – but I want my money back – and expect to hold the violators personally financially responsible for their gross incompetence and gross negligence.
(Come on, Luther, give me some credit. Ha! Fat chance. It would have been nice to have an acknowledgment from Luther in his letters that I was the one that pushed for them abiding by this Article XII, but I noticed there was no positive acknowledgment in his Board Meeting letter either. Golly, gee whiz. But more about THAT letter coming soon.)
The Part About Article XII That Joey and The Board Are STILL Ignoring
The part they are ignoring – is the REST of the Section that Luther Parker refers to: Master Deed, Page 16, Article XII, number 2.
Check out our new Deer Ridge Owners webcam for the current view from our balcony!
Just click the photo for the most recent update. Updated every 5 minutes.
Top 10 Cam Award!
Our new Cobbly Nob TN site was just chosen as an Earthcam Top 10 Webcam!
All of this in just our first two weeks of operation - and before we install our new wide angle, high definition lens! Stay tuned for even better images!
EarthCam, Inc. is the global leader in providing webcam content, technology and services and ranks among the top 1% of all websites. EarthCam.com is the world’s favorite webcam network and the EarthCam Network cameras have been seen on top news shows, including CNN’s Headline News.
New YouTube Channel For Deer Ridge Owners!
Check out ALL of our videos on our new YouTube Channel for Deer Ridge Owners:
We already have videos that will walk you around the whole property and give you reviews from past guests and tourists. Find out what they REALLY have to say about Deer Ridge!
We are adding even more videos in the next few weeks - so check out our Deer Ridge Owners Channel often!
Update: Just added two new videos for a total of 20 videos so far! Check them out!
Owner Files $3 Million Lawsuit Against HOA, General Manager And Board Members
A homeowner in Gatlinburg, Tennessee has filed a $3 Million Lawsuit against his HOA, General Manager And All Individual Board Members at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.
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.
If you believe in free speech as much as we do, we need your help - no matter where in America you may live.
The Deer Ridge HOA board and individual board members have filed a $1 Million Lawsuit against me in their ongoing attempts to stop this blog and have its contents removed. Click Press Release for details.
This power clique wants to continue to block free speech on this property and to keep their illegitimate secrets hidden from other owners.
They are willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars of other owners' money on legal fees to keep themselves in power while they continue to break both Tennessee state law and Deer Ridge property law.
We need your help with the legal fees that will be required to force them to abide by the law - and insure that Deer Ridge Mountain Resort is entitled to free speech like the rest of America.
If you would like to join with others who believe in free speech and believe that all of the 305,000 Home Owner Associations across the nation should be protected from tyrannical boards that ignore the laws, please click the
Donate Button below.
Even a donation of just a few dollars would be very greatly appreciated as a way of showing that we have financial support from thousands of Americans for these important issues!
Thanks so much to all of those of you who have already contributed!
Please help us broadcast this Press Release to others you know who can spread the word. You are welcome to link to this site from Twitter, Facebook or other sites.
With your help we can fight and win this $1 Million lawsuit - and keep this blog active - and an inspiration and model for other HOA Abuse Blogs across the nation.
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