Deer Ridge Owners - Deer Ridge Mountain Resort - Gatlinburg, Tennessee » The Joe’s Folly Pavilion

More Resident Owner Discrimination At Deer Ridge: Two Letters Regarding Our Handling Of Noisy, Obnoxious Tourists

Robert — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 17:34:15 +0000

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.

———————————–

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.

Legalese – And Powered Wig – Off

David Barone Lied To All Deer Ridge Owners About The Lawsuit

Robert — Tue, 31 May 2011 20:53:28 +0000

David Barone Lied To You

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.

Check Out Our Deer Ridge Owners YouTube Channel!

We are currently up to 18 videos that we’ve posted on our DeerRidgeOwners Channel… and are adding more videos every week. Click DeerRidgeOwners Channel to see what’s new!

UnNatural Nature Trail At Deer Ridge Mountain Resort Gatlinburg Tennessee

Robert — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 04:03:47 +0000

The UnNatural Nature Trail

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

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

Inexcusable Mismanagement

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

It’s Been Like This For Months

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

Good First Impression, Huh?

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

Get It Done – Now

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

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

Deer Ridge – Pathetic Pavilion – New YouTube Video

Robert — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:46:11 +0000

New YouTube Video Added

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

The Pathetic Pavilion

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

Inexcusable.

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

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

Good First Impression, Huh?

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

Find Out More – Watch The Video

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

Stay Tuned For More Upcoming Deer Ridge Mountain Resort Videos

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

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

Robert — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:30:19 +0000

Summary Judgment And Temporary Injunction

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

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

The changes resulting from a favorable ruling could include:

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

The Other Key Motion

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

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

I wonder why?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lots More Info

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

Copies Of Motions Filed with the Court

Motion For Summary 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!

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

Robert — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 05:24:19 +0000

News Flash:

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

We finally get this case before the Judge on April 26, 2011. This is a copy of a letter sent by our attorney to the Court:

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 a whopping 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 hemorrhage of HALF our current monthly assessments will be finally stopped — and we’ll finally be out of the motel business. This one point alone will dramatically change the way GGRC and Deer Ridge Mountain Resort have been managed, or rather mismanaged, for over a decade – and allow for a MAJOR reduction in the HOA fees for most all homeowners.
Article XII of the Master Deed clearly provides that there shall be no alterations or additions to the common elements or any part thereof except as authorized by the Board of Directors and approved by not less than 75% of the total vote of co-owners AND not less than 90% of the mortgagees. First, I had to fight the Gang of Six with regard to the requirement that a 75% vote of the total co-owners was required for any alterations or addition or improvements at Deer Ridge. I finally won this point during a board meeting in which the board’s attorney, Chuck Sexton, was present. However, the Gang of Six continues to refuse to pursue the 90% vote of the mortgagees as required by our Master Deed.
If we win this one point during our Motion for Summary Judgment on April 26, we intend to aggressively and immediately pursue forcing reimbursement directly from the members of the “Board of Directors” for their ultra vires acts of illegitimately squandering over $120,000 of owners’ money…including all monies recently spent on the walkway railings. Even as recently as the vote on the walkway railings, Luther Parker and the rest of the “board” categorically refused to even pursue the required 90% vote of all mortgagees and gaveled me out of order at a board meeting to stop my insistence that the governing documents required it. If we win this one point during our Motion for Summary Judgment, it should stop all future violations by The Gang of Six as well as any new board from trying to circumvent the GGRC documents.
It will also be interesting to see what happens to the defense of Joe Thomas and the “board” by the insurance company if we are successful in proving that this Gang of Six was acting ultra vires since all indemnifications of them defined in the Master Deed and Bylaws are null and void. This would make all members of the Gang of Six jointly and severally libel and fully responsible for their own legal costs in defending themselves against our $3 million lawsuit…along with them being jointly and severally libel and fully responsible for any repayments, penalties, interest, punitive damages, etc.

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

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

Other Ongoing Litigation

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

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

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

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

Joey And the Gang Are Worried About Being ”Embarrassed”

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

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

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

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

I wonder why?

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

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.

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.”

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.

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

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

Robert — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 18:53:16 +0000

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.

The next few months at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort are guaranteed to be “interesting times” for many.Stay tuned for more interesting times!

Independent Legal Opinion: GGRC Board Guilty Of Numerous Violations / $353,500 Assessment Is Null And Void

Robert — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:45:42 +0000

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.

This first image shows the law firm, date, attorney and that it deals with GGRC issues. The letter responds to 13 sets of questions I posed with regard to Deer Ridge and the operation and management of GGRC, the property and with regard to RML.

This point discusses that all owners have a right to COPIES of all the books and records. Wanting to make sure it was even more clear, I received the following email from the attorney:

This makes it crystal clear that ALL owners have a right to COPIES of books and records related in any way to GGRC. Period.

Bear in mind that as soon as we file any of our planned litigation, we WILL produce a motion for discovery FORCING you to turn over COPIES of all of these documents.

Also, bear in mind, Luther, if we have to litigate this and go for a declaratory judgment, you will most certainly lose on this point. This should not even be a point of issue with a Board that was open, transparent and honest.

So, based on the above, are you and the Board going to continue to interfere with the owners have their legal rights to copies of the GGRC et al books and records?

Luther, this is the crux of most of the intolerable abuse of power by Joe Thomas and the Board. You all have claimed reliance on these two sections to blatantly ignore the requirements of the Master Deed and Bylaws. As you can see, the attorney is saying exactly the same thing I have been telling you – Article III, Section 9(c) does NOT let you get away with your “arbitrary and capricious reallocation of ownership in the common elements or the common expenses.” Likewise, the same thing for Article V – which means you cannot simply charge the same amount to all unit sizes for any of the expenses.

Luther, ALL allocations and common expenses, including the HOA fees, the water, cable TV, telephone, etc. MUST be charged in accordance with the Master Deed Percentages. Period. You all do NOT have a choice. You all CANNOT be arbitrary and capricious. You MUST abide by the Master Deed Percentages. This should not even be a point of issue with a Board that was open, transparent and honest. So, based on the above, are you and the Board going to continue to be arbitrary and capricious – or are you going to IMMEDIATAELY adjust all costs to reflect the Master Deed Percentages?

Point 3 relates to your statement in the November budget meeting that, “an 82% over charge to the 30 1-1 owners was ‘fair and equitable.’”

Clearly, it is NOT.

So, based on the above, are you and the Board going to continue to be arbitrary and capricious – or are you going to IMMEDIATELY adjust all costs to reflect the Master Deed Percentages – and stop overcharging all 30 1-1 owners by 82%?

Uh oh. Trouble in River City for the Board. Could it be that special assessments are NOT authorized whatsoever??? See the interesting details below.

As you can see, all of those overcharges you guys have made for years can be recouped by me and all the other victims of your “arbitrary and capricious” wrongly calculated assessments. For me, that adds up to over $10,000 and I want all my money back with at least interest. It doesn’t look like I can get monetary damages – at least on this point – though it may depend on what type of litigation we pursue.

NOTE: All 1-1 owners now, and in the past, will have a CLAIM for the board’s arbitrary and capricious overcharges – to get back your money and interest and probably legal fees to sue them! If you want to join with me as a co-plaintiff, please email me ASAP!

Here is a BIGGIE – RML and Ridge Resort Realty are NOT legitimate, just as I have claimed for years. RML was illegally formed by the board in 1987 with zero vote of the owners for one thing – but even beyond that point, it is NOT an appropriate use of any funds as described above.

We expect to file a derivative action suit, as GGRC, against you, individually, and all the board members and Joe Thomas, individually, to force the IMMEDIATE divestiture of both RML and Ridge Resort Realty and for reimbursements of any and all costs associated in any way with the formation and operation of these two illegitimate companies.

I personally want every penny of MY money back that was ever spent in any way to support RML and Ridge Resort Realty.

If you would like me, with my 15 plus years of real estate experience to help with the quick and IMMEDIATE divestiture of these companies, please let me know.

As I have claimed, all Annual Meetings held in April are NOT Annual Meetings as defined by the Master Deed. And, since the Master Deed REQUIRES that the Board of Directors is ONLY elected at the Annual Meeting, you, Luther Parker, and the rest of this current “Board” were NOT properly elected and any and all decisions made by you all are null and void and without effect. As such, I intend to file suit to have the Court appoint a Special Master to oversee all operations of GGRC and the immediate divestiture of both RML and Ridge Resort Realty.

Now, if you really hurry, since this is February 18th, you COULD get a quick 30 day notice out to all owners moving the April “Annual Meeting” to the first quarter as required by the Master Deed. That would allow for the proper election of the new board without the need for a court-appointed Master. However, if you wait or still try to hold the “Annual Meeting” in April, and I am successful with my point of law, this means that the Master would be running GGRC until the first quarter of NEXT YEAR.

So, what say you Luther? Are you going to quickly try to abide by the controlling documents of our Regime – or are you going to toss it all into the court appointed Master’s hands?

There are SEVERAL very interesting parts to the attorney’s response to this Question 8.

First of all, just to be clear to Tom Reise – you guys are NOT in the “driver’s seat” and you cannot simply ignore the provisions of Article XII REQUIRING you to get the 90% vote of the mortgage holders of all condo units at Deer Ridge! If you all proceed in ANY way with the demolition or construction of your aluminum walkway railings, you will be in direct violation of the Master Deed. Period. You have been WARNED.

The second interesting concept here is the one mentioned in one of my recent blog postings: ultra vires acts. I warned you all in that posting that you had each better talk with your individual attorneys because ANYTHING you do, or HAVE ALREADY DONE, that are outside the scope of authority granted you by the Master Deed and Bylaws, subjects EACH of you personally to be grossly negligent. This means that you will NOT be able to rely on the D and O insurance to protect you, nor to use legal counsel of GGRC to defend you.

It also means that some owners, me included of course, can name you all individually in a derivative action suit. You all need to really understand how a derivative action suit works – since that means we can sue each of you, on behalf of GGRC as our plaintiff. Now, that sounds interesting. And, it means that all the owners would get paid back from your pockets – not from GGRC’s bank account. For me, that will be most fitting – considering the long term abuse of power that has existed at Deer Ridge.

Now, are you SURE you want to start spending YOUR money replacing those walkway railings?

Alas, this was the one point that did not YET go our way. We are still investigating ways to get this one to happen too, but we may have to wait until we replace three of the current board members. We also expect that Tennessee and other states will follow Nevada’s lead in REQUIRING all HOA board meetings be digitally recorded.

Now, things get very interesting.

NOTE TO ALL – BASED ON INDEPENDENT LEGAL OPINION,
IT LOOKS LIKE NO ONE IS REQUIRED TO FUND ANY PART
OF THE $353,500 ASSESSMENT!

That felt good to say. This part was so amazing that I even went back to the attorney and asked for clarity. He assured me saying he stands by this answer. What this means folks is that the board, even if they were properly elected – which this one is NOT – can never do a special assessment. They can only raise the monthly fees to properly build a reserve fund (the monies that were in the reserve fund as recently as three years ago have seemingly disappeared – probably in covering the negative cash flow from operations of RML.)

Additionally, even if it had been legal, the Board’s unwillingness to provide us copies of all the records tied to this Asinine Assessment would have invalidated the assessment.

If you would like to join with me in blocking your upcoming assessment, please let me know ASAP. We intend on filing an injunction against GGRC and the Board from even attempting to enforce this assessment until full resolution of our lawsuit(s).

Clearly, the “Board” has not acted fairly and equitably with regard to me, or other full time owners at Deer Ridge. Stay tuned for a LOT more about this.

Luther, we believe that there will be a massive amount of evidence that will show that you and the other “board” members and Joe Thomas have repeatedly committed ultra vires acts that were outside the scope of authority granted you by the Master Deed and Bylaws. As such, these acts will hopefully 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. I am sure as we dig into the records, we will discover a LOT more. Would you like to write us a check for the full $120,000? Or, would you rather have Margie or David pay all of that for you?

This Question 13 answer is pretty crystal clear Luther. No one gets a penny for serving on the Board. This means NO reimbursement for anything including 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.

For example, let’s talk about Margie since she seems to have been on the Board for years. If she got $300 per meeting for travel and attended 5 meetings a year, which is $1,500. Let’s assume other stuff added up to another $500 a year for a total of $2,000 a year in illegitimate benefits. If she had gotten these ill gotten gains for say 10 years, this means that Margie will immediately owe us $20,000.

If this same amount was paid out to ALL board members and some committee members, the total amount that could be owned back could exceed $200,000. That’s almost enough to get all the work done at Deer Ridge that REALLY needs to be done.

Of course, my personal intuition is that she and other board members have received a LOT more quid pro quo that will have to be paid back – but we will see.

Have You Noticed A Trend Here?

I assume you have noticed that I have been spot on RIGHT on everything I have been saying for years on my blog – and that your vilification, slander and libel contained in your diatribe letter you recently mailed to all owners was obviously full of lies and disinformation as a way to attempt to falsely discredit me. This objective legal opinion validates virtually EVERYTHING I have been saying for years. And, if need be, we will take the board members to court to prove it with finality.

I, along with many other owners, are sick and tired of the board’s “arbitrary and capricious ways” of illegitimately running GGRC and Deer Ridge – and I continue to be highly motivated to resolve these issues once and for all so that this property is finally properly governed by its Master Deed and Bylaws.

Luther, if you want these matters settled, you have three days. The clock is already ticking.

Govern yourself accordingly.

Robert
A-202

Deer Ridge History 1987-2006 – New Downloadable Document For All Owners

Robert — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:35:27 +0000

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.

Enjoy the history lessons.

Deer Ridge History – Historical Documents And Smoking Guns – Coming Soon

Robert — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:03:36 +0000

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.”

(Click the headline to leave comments.)

My Response To The Board’s Attack Letter

Robert — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:33:52 +0000

Thank You!

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.

“Robert’s emails questioned the actions of the Board and Manager and he demanded that he be provided detailed financial records so he could advise the Board and Manager the correct manner in which to run the day to day operations at Deer Ridge.
“That statement is mostly true.

As an owner, I have a right to receive copies of ALL the books and records concerning MY ownership and investment at Deer Ridge. ALL owners have this right.

The current and past boards have adamantly refused to provide copies to any owner.Instead, all they offer is to let an owner set up an appointment with Joe Thomas to quickly VIEW whatever documents Joe Thomas is willing to show (they are unwilling to even show many underlying documents) while Joe is looking over your shoulder. They know that forcing this approach, they can’t be held accountable – and any analysis is all but impossible. It is also unworkable for all the folks who own at Deer Ridge who do not visit often. How are they supposed to see the books and records if they can’t have copies?

This one point is the crux of a majority of my complaints – and that complaint has been there since Day 1 and continues to this day. For me, this is such a critically important issue, it is worth filing a lawsuit over – so ALL owners can see what is going on with their investment in Deer Ridge.
“He earlier wanted RML sold, and that is still one of his goals.”
Absolutely. In my opinion, RML and Ridge Resort Realty are operating companies that put all owners at risk of running small companies – and is a violation of the Master Deed and Bylaws. Everyone who needs rental income would be better served by selling RML to a larger, better property management company – plus if sold correctly, could generate several hundreds of thousands of dollars to GGRC.

Should Deer Ridge HOA Sell Ridge Management Limited?

Sale of RML To An Unaffiliated Company Pro / Con List

What Is RML REALLY Worth If We Sell It?

Marketing Steps For Selling RML

Joe’s Gypity Do Dah Song to Deer Ridge Owners

“He wants the current Board and Joe Thomas fired.”
Absolutely! There are SO many reasons that Joe Thomas should be fired – and I read the whole list to his face during the last board meeting. Please see:

Deer Ridge Board Meeting Motion – Fire Joe Thomas For Cause

Deer Ridge Mountain Resort: Who IS Responsible For Multiple Violations of Article XII of the Master Deed?

File A Complaint Against Joe Thomas With Tennessee Real Estate Commission

Joe Thomas Butchers Deer Ridge Trees For Benefit Of Non Deer Ridge Owner

Open Letter To Luther Parker and Board: Joe Thomas Accosts Owner In Laundry Room

“He has indicated he would like to take over our HOA and run it on his whim of the moment.”
This is false. Completely false.

I have zero interest in running the HOA, being on the board or having Joe’s job. Zero interest.

Joe has always been threatened by me since I have significantly more real estate and property management experience than he does. Even though I’ve gone out of my way to make it clear that I don’t want his job, his apparent paranoia over this has been the root of a lot of his conniving and devious behavior toward me since we bought at Deer Ridge.
“Without a single substantiating fact he posted the picture on his website with the accusation that the Board was preparing to run a “secret” test for the demolition and replacement of the railings at one of the buildings and that Deer Ridge had already spent monies on parts for this test run.”
Actually, there were several substantiating facts.

One, is the long history of Joey and the Board spending over $120,000 of OUR money on unapproved projects without having the same kind of vote they are currently having on February 6th about the ridiculous and completely unnecessary Walkway Railings replacements. Joey and current and past boards have often moved ahead with projects with no authority whatsoever, such as The Joe’s Folly Pavilion.

Secondly, there is the magic wording in the Board’s own minutes from the November budget meeting that were sent to all owner around December 1, 2009. This is the section about the test run and timelines for the walkway railings:

Now, please note several things in the board’s own minutes:
- “Joe Thomas mentioned that contractors want to do a test run on a walkway in January.” Hmmm…I guess we all didn’t just imagine that January test run date after all, huh?
- They already knew and were taking into account that I had forced them to abide by the Master Deed and Bylaws, so they had to have the damn 75% vote.
- Even if the owners decide it makes no sense to spend over $49,000 to replace perfectly good walkway railings, we are being warned by El Presidente Luther that our assessment won’t go down! How is that for Joey and the board trying to railroad something through – even if the owners vote they don’t want it? The cost of this boondoggle is 14% of the total assessment. But hell or high water, Joey and the board need all that money – even if it isn’t going to be used for its stated purpose! Does anyone else see this as outrageously unethical as I do?
- But wait…there’s more: Even knowing that the vote was not going to occur until February 6th, Point 5 repeats their intent of doing a test run AND having all walkway railings DONE by the April Owner’s Meeting. Now, not the ambiguous parenthetical (if approved). If you diagram the sentence, you will see that the wording meant approval of the whole project, not the test run. Which is exactly the intent of the board.
- Also, look at the timeline. If they were really going to do the test run AFTER the vote…and then do all the demolition and complete reconstruction AFTER the test run was tested, there wouldn’t be time to do it right. However, if they were going to do the test run in January, as the plan shows above, then they might be able to get it all done in time for the meeting.
- Also, Point 5 even WARNS the owners: “Ownership be cognizant that the Building and Grounds committee, Board and Management, contractors and maintenance staff would like to do a test run on one walkway.” Now, to me that wording speaks volumes. They are telling us that they are illegitimately moving forward NOW with the test run BEFORE the vote. Otherwise, why should the owners be cognizant?
- Maybe it is just me, but I think the above minutes make it CRYSTAL CLEAR that Joey and the boys were going to move ahead with the secret test run in January. What does your intuition tell you?
But, wait there is more….proof.

Thirdly, Neil Blair received the following email from Luther Parker, El Presidente regarding this project:

Date: Thu, 24 Dec 2009 11:15:37 -0600

Subject: RE: Questions

From: parker.luther@gmail.com

To: openroad12@hotmail.comCC: mickmargie@zoomtown.com; DavidBarone@optonline.net; larryo@skdocpa.com; tomtrip@verizon.net; manager@deerridge.com

Neil,

The Buiding and Grounds Committee had identified the walkway problems prior to Mr. Novak’s presentation to the Board. The project of replacing the walkway railings and up-dating the lighting is well underway. Presently, the general manager has been given the task of taking precautionary measures until the walkway project gets underway.

Neil, I must conclude that you are clearly saying to me (e-mail) “We will let a judge decide”. Additionally, you stated that you would be contacting the FBI for an investigation of the Board.

Since you desire representation by a third party, I will respond to those agents representing you.

Sincerely,

Luther

Now, how would YOU interpret that email – especially the part in red – especially considering the long history of costly, illegitimate projects at Deer Ridge? That is why I got a panicked telephone call from another owner asking me to please do whatever I could with my blog to stop this illegitimate act before it was too late.

Note that this email was sent by Luther Parker on December 24th – exactly a week before our posting about the dumpster. From what we have been told by insiders, our posting did, indeed, keep their illegal walkway railing test from happening. Please also see: Deer Ridge Board: What Part of No Do You NOT Understand? and Deer Ridge Mountain Resort: Who IS Responsible For Multiple Violations of Article XII of the Master Deed?

So, let’s look again at the Board’s attack letter claims, “Without a single substantiating fact he posted the picture on his website with the accusation that the Board was preparing to run a “secret” test for the demolition and replacement of the railings at one of the buildings and that Deer Ridge had already spent monies on parts for this test run.”

I think we have triple and quadruple “substantiating facts” to believe Joey and the boys were moving ahead, spending OUR money on their ridiculous pet project – even before the owners voted. And, I believe that the ONLY thing that stopped them was this blog posting – and they are especially aggravated by it.

In spite of the protests by Joey and the board in their attack letter, do you think that I might, just maybe, be right about their illegitimate test run and why that first dumpster showed up on property after all?

Uh huh. Talk about Doublespeak.

Irrespective of whether they were going to use the actual dumpster shown in the photo or some other dumpster, I think it now surely seems obvious to God and everybody that not only were Joey and the boys going to violate the Master Deed once again by spending our money without the proper vote and approval – they are now CLEARLY guilty of trying to cover it up with a LIE.

Joey and the boys have been hoisted with their own petards and documentation. Maybe we can call it JoeGate instead of WaterGate.

And, consider this: if Joe Thomas and Luther Parker and the rest of the board are willing to manufacture lies like this in their attack letter against me, it kind of makes you wonder how many more outright lies all of them are trying to tell all the owners in the rest of that attack letter.

AND IF THEY ARE LIARS – WHAT ELSE ABOUT DEER RIDGE ARE JOE THOMAS AND LUTHER PARKER AND THE REST OF THE BOARD LYING TO THE OWNERS ABOUT – ABOUT THE ASSESSMENT? ABOUT THE BUDGETS? ABOUT THE REAL OPERATION OF RML? ABOUT BOARD COMPENSATION? ABOUT EVERYTHING?
“How can this man state that he has the support of many owners in his quest to completely destroy the beautiful mountain resort that has been more than 23 years in the making?”
Read the blog to see some of the support. See the proxies that I will bring to the February 6th meeting on the Walkway Railings Vote. Read the emails you are getting from other owners complaining about how you are not abiding by the Deer Ridge The Master Deed and Bylaws. Read the other, upcoming letters from other owners that will be mailed to all owners in the next few weeks. There are now many of us owners who are joining together to bring about long needed changes to Deer Ridge that will do just the opposite of destroying our beautiful mountain PROPERTY.
“On December 23, 2009 he stated on his website his intention to file a complaint against Joe Thomas with the Tennessee Real Estate Commission.”
This is true – although it just went in the mail in the last couple of days since the official complaint had to be notarized. You can read all about this complaint at File A Complaint Against Joe Thomas With Tennessee Real Estate Commission. If you agree with the reasons given, I invite you to join me and other Deer Ridge Owners who have filed this same complaint about Joe Thomas with the State of Tennessee.
“On December 12, 2009 he stated on his website that he had filed an official request to the FBI to investigate alleged criminal activity by Deer Ridge Manager and Board for suspected crimes of: white collar crime; corruption; financial misappropriations, kickbacks, embezzlement; illegitimate Board member compensation; and securities fraud.”
This is true. You can read all about this complaint at FBI – Official Request Made to Investigate Alleged Criminal Activity By Deer Ridge Manager And Board. If you agree with the reasons given, I invite you to join me and other Deer Ridge Owners who have filed this same complaint about Joe Thomas with the FBI.
“The Board has made the decision to not provide,nor allow to be made, copies of detailed financial records which could be disseminated to parties that might use them to the detriment of the orderly operation of GG&RC and/or RML.”
Again, this is the crux of the problem.

ALL owners should be able to have copies of ALL books and records related in any way to the operation of their property and their investment.

If we have to go to court over this, we WILL go to court over this. Additionally, exactly what detrimental consequences does the board fear from these financial records? The ONLY ones I can think of relate solely to any malfeasance and misuse of HOA funds – which is exactly why I believe the Board and Joey are fighting, tooth and nail, to keep these copies out of the hands of owners. Please see: Yes Or No, Luther Parker? An Open Letter To Luther Parker, President of Deer Ridge – GGRC and RML.
“It is for this very same reason that the Board has made the decision to not allow audio recording of any of the Board meetings…”
Again, this is another case where the board refuses to be transparent and accountable to all owners.

Interestingly, the State of Nevada just implemented a new law affecting all HOAs that now REQUIRE them to audio record ALL board meetings and keep those recordings available to all interested parties for at least 10 years. Other states are expected to follow suit. So, if so many state governments see this as a requirement that is to the benefit of all owners, why does Joey and the Board at Deer Ridge fight it so much?
“On November 15,2009, on his website, he posted pictures along with the allegation ‘Joe Thomas Butchers Deer Ridge Trees For Benefit of Non Deer Ridge Owner’ …What his cursory investigation failed to reveal was that one of the cabin owners on Moonshine Ridge, which overlooks Weber Road, also wanted some trees topped that were located on the south side of the road. Through the Maintenance staff, Joe contacted the landscaper that does contract work for Deer Ridge and referred him to the persons wanting the trees cut. The property line is very close to the road at this point and GG&RC only owns a 25 ft right of way from the center line of Weber Road. The topped tree closest to the road is 33 ft from the center line. Therefore, it appears that most, if not all, of the trees topped in this area were not on GG&RC property.”
From our analysis of the plat, the above “convenient” calculations by Joey and the Board appear to be very wrong and these trees are, indeed, on our property.

Do you believe it a coincidence that these trees were butchered at virtually the same time that this one cabin, the ONLY one that benefited from the butchering, signed on to be managed by RML? Please see: Joe Thomas Butchers Deer Ridge Trees For Benefit Of Non Deer Ridge Owner, Joe Thomas Butchers Deer Ridge Trees For Benefit Of Non Deer Ridge Owner – Chapter 2 and Tree Trimming At Deer Ridge: A Guest Post By Tina.
“On September 20, 2009 he filed a complaint with the local US Postal authorities.”
True. Many of us have had way too much mail tampering.

However, I am please to say that I have now been successful at forcing Joey and the Board to install private mailboxes where keys will only be given to the individual owner and the US postal person who delivers the mail. Please see: Postmaster Says We Have A Right To Demand Individual Mailboxes and Major Successes At Deer Ridge Board Meeting – Four Total – One Major Win! We should get our individual keys personally delivered to us sometime this week by Scott, the Gatlinburg Postmaster.
“On December 21, 2009 a copy of an invoice mailed by the Cobbly Nob Property Owners Association to Deer Ridge Mountain Resort appeared on his website and his cry is “Deer Ridge behind in payments to Cobbly Nob -Over $31,000!…RML is not in arrears to Cobbly Nob.”
Please see: Deer Ridge Behind In Payments To Cobbly Nob – Over $31,000!

Note in spite of what Joey and the Board claim in the letter about being caught up…that Cobbly Nob is offering a payment plan that just happens to start when the Asinine Assessments are due in March! If they are so caught up, why is a payment plan even being offered? Kind of makes you wonder, huh?
“In every instance the (GGRC) attorney did not find fault with the decisions of the Board and rebuked him for trying to micro-manage the Board’s operation when the Master Deed and By-Laws clearly granted the Board the authority to manage the property in a manner which is fair and equitable.
This is false.

We had to fight to get Vic and Joey to release the mailing labels back in 2006 – and the same attorney told them they did not have a choice – that I was right in my demand that they had to provide it!

Also, at the most recent board meeting, the same attorney had to remind Joey and the Board that, again, they do not have a choice about providing mailing labels – which Luther had been denying access to. Also, in the same meeting, the same attorney agreed with me that the board HAD to abide by Article XII and get the required 75% vote of owners before doing ANY alteration or improvement.

This alone is a MAJOR win for all owners – with their attorney in fact finding MAJOR fault with the decisions of the Board. Their current vote on February 6 requiring a 75% vote for the ridiculous replacement of perfectly good walkway railings is an admission of Joey’s and the Board’s GUILT over not requesting the same kind of vote before illegitimately squandering over $120,000 on other projects just as Joe’s Folly Pavilion. I would say that is a clear case of their statement being proven completely false, wouldn’t you?

Please see:
- Deer Ridge Owners Mailing Labels Now Available To ALL Owners
- Major Win On Deer Ridge Article XII Bylaws – Thoughts and Implications
- Major Successes At Deer Ridge Board Meeting – Four Total – One Major Win!
  
  Also, there is the whole issue of all 30 1-1 units at Deer Ridge being grossly overcharged by 82% on monthly HOA fees and all other assessments. When asked in the meeting, Luther Parker said this was “fair and equitable.” We obviously disagree and will take this matter to court and see if the court agrees that an 82% overcharge is fair and equitable.
- Lawsuit Against Deer Ridge GGRC Inevitable And Moving Forward – Despite Gains At Board Meeting
- Deer Ridge Board Meeting: Luther Parker States 82% Monthly Overcharge to All 30 1-1 Owners Is Fair And Equitable
“We believe the majority of owners do not want Deer Ridge Mountain Resort to become another small residential complex as he has suggested and would like it to become.”
Scott, the Postmaster for Gatlinburg has told us that based on trends in this city and specific trends and current pricing at Deer Ridge, within two to five years, he expects that all of Deer Ridge will become a residential complex. This has nothing to do with me – and has everything to do with micro and macro economic trends specific to this geography.

However, think about the statement in their attack letter.

If these units are fairly marketed to all potential buyers, many of those buyers will be interested in Deer Ridge as their primary home. So, “the majority of owners” mentioned in the attack letter do not get a vote on this either – even though Joe Thomas has done all he can to try and accomplish this by only trying to sell units to those who will use RML. This is a MAJOR disservice to those who are trying to sell their units – and his tactics have greatly suppressed prices of all units here for years. This is one of the reasons we filed a complaint against Joe Thomas with the Tennessee Real Estate Boards. You can read all about this complaint at File A Complaint Against Joe Thomas With Tennessee Real Estate Commission. If you agree with the reasons given, I invite you to join me and other Deer Ridge Owners who have filed this same complaint about Joe Thomas with the State of Tennessee.
“He blatantly abused the pooling system, staying in his unit for a month at a time while still collecting rent via the pooling system.”
Our “abuse” was staying in OUR unit, that we own, for the month of October right after we bought the unit in August. However, we did NOT collect rent from the pooling system. We were fully agreeable that no rent was owed. The fact that Joey and the board could even consider this as abuse is almost laughable. However, when RML instituted a “prime time tax” – charging owners an absurd and outrageous daily charge on top of no rental income is why we took our unit out of RML. That is when additional “abuse” occurred by Joe Thomas RENTING our unit AFTER it was no longer in RML. He has done this to other owners too – fully demonstrating his lack of ethics and trustworthiness.

It is this kind of mindset by Joey and the Board that this property and every unit here is for their Little Joe’s Notel Motel empire – and not an aggregation of 84 units with about 80 owners who have varying and totally justifiable reasons to own at Deer Ridge that may have NOTHING to do with renting their units via RML.
“On February 10,2007, a committee formed by the Board to study and make recommendations with respect to Joe Thomas’s group’s offer, met in Luther Parker’s unit (B202). On this day Robert , a member of the committee, focused his contribution to the meeting on selling RML to an outside interest at a future point in time fora great deal of money…The charge would be 7% of the total selling price … “.
The Attack Letter implies I was making money from the sale of RML. Please see the full text, which they conveniently edited, by clicking Marketing Steps For Selling RML. There you will see that I clearly state, out of all available options for selling, that “Using a competent, knowledgeable business broker is probably the best approach for the sale of RML.” I also add that instead of using me, “While this approach is an alternative for the Board, the business broker approach may be the best approach since it is a total third party dealing with no potential for any conflicts of interest.” As you can see, their attack letter is intentionally misleading on this point – and I would suggest that it is equally intentionally misleading on all the other points too.

However, since they brought up the offer by Joe Thomas to buy RML, I strongly suggest you read what really happened by clicking: Joe’s Gypity Do Dah Song to Deer Ridge Owners. There you will see how Joe wanted to buy all of RML for $100,000, 90% financed by GGRC with NO PERSONAL LIABILITY by Joey – and he takes over bank accounts with more than $10,000 in them. That way, he grossly underpays for RML, gets it with no personal liability, can walk away from it when and if it doesn’t work for HIM any longer and drains the acquired bank accounts to pay for the complete down payment. See why I thought this was such a bad deal for the owners at Deer Ridge?

Also, think about this: If Joey thought it was such a good idea that GGRC sell RML, then why is he SO opposed to it being sold for a fair price to a larger management company that has the economies of scale to operate RML and the units in RML at Deer Ridge? The implications of this logic gap by Joe Thomas speaks volumes about how much he doesn’t care about what is good for Deer Ridge Owners!
“Shortly before the April 2008 Owner’s meeting, Robert sent a 9 page; “An Open Letter to the Deer Ridge Board and All Owners”, via email and his website (www.DeerRidgeOwners.com/prediction). The title of this letter was “Deer Ridge Mountain Resort – An Economic Prediction for 2008-2010″.
True. We still have one year to go – but check out my original prediction to see how good a job I did. Click Deer Ridge Mountain Resort – An Economic Prediction For 2008-2010.
“Fellow owners is it a coincidence that much of Robert’s negative commentary materializes as meetings are about to take place? Or is the timing well orchestrated to disrupt, distort, distract, divide and subsequently destroy Deer Ridge as we know it today?”
It is to try and finally get these critical issues on the agenda since the Board has a four year history of NOT answering questions and emails and NOT being held accountable for its actions and inactions.
“Interestingly, during the summer of 2009, Robert became our 7th permanent resident.”
Partially true. We are here as full time residents enjoying the beauty of Deer Ridge – until such time as we can get the goals of this blog accomplished. We decided we have to be here to effectuate change since so much is hidden from owners who do not spend a lot of time here. That is how and why we are seeing so much more going on here like the tree butchering. Our presence here is also required for the upcoming litigation against GGRC and RML. Once these goals are met, we will return home to Clearwater Beach, Florida – whether that takes 3 months or 33 months.

Here’s another hint for Joey: We will not be leaving until AFTER you are gone.
“In a 19 page diatribe posted on his website on October 19, 2009 he is seeking legal representation for his HOA Class Action Lawsuits wrote the following. “All recent annual meetings and the election of officers and board members, approval of all budgets, etc. are null and void.” “That an independent auditor be hired and paid for by GGRC and placed under my administration and direction … ” “That RML and Ridge Resort Realty be expeditiously sold under my administration and direction …Ownership note Robert’s statements, particularly “under my [Robert] administration”.”
Please see the following links for the full REAL story on all of the above sound bites taking out of context:
- Deer Ridge Problems – The Mind Map
- Deer Ridge Mountain Resort: Who IS Responsible For Multiple Violations of Article XII of the Master Deed?
- Major Successes At Deer Ridge Board Meeting – Four Total – One Major Win!
- Lawsuit Against Deer Ridge GGRC Inevitable And Moving Forward – Despite Gains At Board Meeting
- Deer Ridge Board Meeting: Luther Parker States 82% Monthly Overcharge to All 30 1-1 Owners Is Fair And Equitable
“On November 6, 2009, the Board received a letter from Mr. Sexton (the GGRC attorney) responding to Robert’s allegations. The following are excerpts from that letter, ‘The first question regards the Board’s authority under the Master Deed and Bylaws. It is my understanding that he is taking the position that various owners at Deer Ridge are being assessed monthly dues and allocation of common expenses and repairs at a percentage disproportionate to the ownership interest . . The last half of the sentence in Article III, Paragraph 9(c) beginning with the word “however” clearly gives the Board authority to allocate common expenses using a method other than percentage of ownership. The qualifier is “provided such method is fair and equitable”. It is my understanding that Robert is complaining that current owners ‘fees and assessments are being assessed in a ratio different than the percentage of ownership set out in Exhibit 2-1 to the Master Deed. This document clearly assigns to each unit design a specific percentage of the vote to which they are entitled. The percentage of vote likewise corresponds to their percentage of ownership interest in the common elements. “
This is one of two fundamental issues I have with the way things are done and not done at Deer Ridge. This one alone is worth taking GGRC to court over. Joey and the Board make claim to Article III, Paragraph 9(c) as their sole justification for ignoring the real intend and requirements of The Master Deed and Bylaws. It is their intentional misinterpretation of this clause that has allowed Joey and the Board to OVERCHARGE all 30 1-1 units at Deer Ridge by 82% on monthly HOA fees and other assessments. There are several postings at the blog that describe this issue.

The key is that the section they hang their hats on ONLY relates to the DEVELOPMENT PLAN phase of the property that ended 23 YEARS ago.

Even IF the Board were to prevail by convincing the Judge that Deer Ridge is still in the Development Phase after 23 years, we have the other part of Article III, Section 9 Paragraph C: “…provided such method is fair and equitable…”

The fact that all 30 1-1 units are charged 82% more than the Master Deed Percentages would almost certainly be deemed to be UN”fair and equitable” – especially when the 2-2-L should be charged 50% more than they have been charged by the current Board!

And, here we have our fearless leader, Luther Parker, stating straight-faced at the board meeting a few days ago that, “Yes, the 82% IS fair and equitable.” Luther, thankfully, I don’t think ANY judge is EVER going to agree with your logic and math.

And, I bet a VAST majority of the 30 owners of 1-1 units, representing 36% of ALL units at Deer Ridge will STRONGLY disagree that your “82% IS fair and equitable” overcharge for their HOA fees they have to pay each and every month IS fair and equitable.

Please check out the following links on this critical issue:
- Open Letter to Chuck Sexton – Attorney for GGRC – That GGRC and Deer Ridge Has NO Current Board of Directors
- Lawsuit Against Deer Ridge GGRC Inevitable And Moving Forward – Despite Gains At Board Meeting
- Deer Ridge Board Meeting: Luther Parker States 82% Monthly Overcharge to All 30 1-1 Owners Is Fair And Equitable
- We Are * In Play * – As They Say On Wall St. – Attorney Contacts Commenced For Deer Ridge HOA Lawsuit
- Seeking Legal Representation – RFP – HOA Lawsuits
- Class-Action Lawsuits – Coming Soon To A HOA Near You
- RML Is Illegal! Pavilion Is Illegal! April Annual Meetings Are Illegal! More Major Flagrant Master Deed Violations
- Deer Ridge – Your Monthly HOA Fee And Special Assessment Are WRONG! Open Letter to Deer Ridge Board: Lawsuit Being Prepared Against GGRC and RML
  
  Please note that this section of the attack letter refers to an “excerpt.” Since the thought processes seem to abruptly end, it makes you wonder if the parts they left out were in fact critical to understanding what their attorney REALLY said.
“He does not have the right to demand to be a junior board member double checking all the work done by each Board member. ”
I do not want to be either a junior or senior board member. What I want is to have the same rights for all Deer Ridge Owners: Making GGRC and RML transparent, accountable and compliant with the controlling documents of our property: The Master Deed and Bylaws.
“He is working hard to destroy Deer Ridge as we know it today.”
False, Deer Ridge is a beautiful property and the only things I want to destroy are the antithesis of our goals that include making GGRC and RML transparent, accountable and compliant with the controlling documents of our property: The Master Deed and Bylaws.

Well, those are the top points about their attack letter…I personally think this letter was sent to all owners as a smoke screen by Joey and the Board to lower the heat factor they are feeling from all the complaints from other owners over the Asinine Assessment of $353,500 – and the fact they will not provide an iota of documentation and proof that these monies need to be spent – especially $50,000 on “nuts and bolts” and $49,000 to replace perfectly good walkway railings just because Joey wants a different design.

I don’t have time to even address the rest of their trivial points and other lies – but do invite you to read everything at this Deer Ridge Owners Blog and make your own decision of whether you think I am trying to destroy Deer Ridge Mountain Resort or help it finally succeed.

PS: If you haven’t already done so and can’t make the meeting, please mail me your signed proxy to represent you at the upcoming February 6th special meeting about the ridiculous and completely unnecessary Walkway Railings replacements.

Deer Ridge Mountain Resort: Who IS Responsible For Multiple Violations of Article XII of the Master Deed?

Deer Ridge Walkway Railing Alteration Fiasco – Vote NO!

Robert — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:17:06 +0000

Hot Off The Press

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.

Part of Number 2 is shown above. Guess what else is in Number 2?

See the yellow highlight? What this means is that for EVERY improvement and alteration, TWO votes are required:

A 75% positive vote by all the all the owners
AND, a 90% positive vote by all mortgage companies that have mortgages on any and all units at Deer Ridge, based on the total mortgage indebtedness on all units at Deer Ridge!

I am not sure Joey and the Board even know which mortgage companies hold liens in light of all the foreclosures nationwide, especially with all of the consolidation in the industry. Stories abound in the news about how so many foreclosures are stalled nationwide because mortgages have been sold and resold so many times, that no one is sure who actually even holds the note on many of these properties anymore.

So, finding out who each lender REALLY is, then getting to a person who is really in charge of that loan and willing to vote for anything will be, at best, difficult.

Additionally, Joey and the Board will be tasked with PROVING that they have contacted the right person, got a signed proxy and properly executed estoppel certificate from each legitimate lender, with the proxy signed by a person with proven authority, and produce a full, detailed spreadsheet clearly showing the comprehensive analysis to prove that a positive 90% vote of all mortgagees has been successfully accomplished in full accordance with the yellow highlighted section of Master Deed, Page 16, Article XII, number 2.

I personally believe that, in this economy with the current real estate mortgage disarray, this cannot be done legitimately.

Come on guys. You have now finally ADMITTED you were GUILTY of doing things so very WRONG all this time in the past. And, you can’t just do it HALF RIGHT this time.

I, and a lot of other owners, will be watching for the proof you have done it 100% right this time – including getting the necessary mortgagee vote!

Are They Really Waiting For Your Vote?

The talk around the property is that Joey and the Board are not really waiting for your vote. Scuttlebutt around here is that they have already ordered the parts for some of this work to be done. The other talk is that they don’t care what Article XII says, they are going to go ahead and do things the way they want to – irrespective of YOUR vote. Just like they have done so many times in the past.

Vote NO

I strongly recommend you attend the Special Meeting on February 6th and hear what is really going on here at Deer Ridge. Alternatively, I strongly urge you to vote NO on the ballot you will be receiving. If you like, you can designate me as your proxy if you would like me to vote on your behalf. (Be sure and mail or fax me a copy of the proxy you send back to Joey and the Board in case they “forget” about it.)

Reasons to vote NO:

Firstly, they are asking for another BLANK CHECK! Luther didn’t even bother to give us a cost estimate of ANY kind directly tied to his vote request! I don’t know about you, but my wife is the only person who gets a blank check from me! With Luther’s request for your Vote, there are no written bids, no statement of work, no competitive bidding, no specifications, no nothing to back it up! The Board must think we are all idiots. This, by itself, would mean a NO vote from me.
In spite of what Joe and the Board say, most of the current wood railings are in good shape and do NOT need to be replaced at all. Hence, leaving what we have would save the owners a ton of wasted money spent on what did not need to be replaced.
In our beautiful mountain environment, the metal railings do not tie in aesthetically at all with the property as well as the current wood railings do.
We just spent over $84,000 on walkway repairs in the last couple of years! We are going to trash all the monies just spent on them???

I Don’t Trust Them

I hereby put Joe and the Board on notice that I will want to see all the cast votes at the meeting, record how each owner voted, see the above proof on all mortgagees – and post that information on the Blog for owner verification.

So, don’t even think of trying to rig the vote. We will be watching – very carefully.

Deer Ridge Problems – The Mind Map

Robert — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:37:07 +0000

Deer Ridge – The Mind Map

A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. I use these all the time to work with my clients as a way to convey complex planning ideas.

I decided to use one for the current pivotal problems at Deer Ridge to better convey the issues to the attorneys we will be working with on our lawsuit(s) – and even as a way to make things clearer to the FBI once they start to investigate the activities of Joe Thomas and the GGRC HOA Board.

This image version is hard to see – so click on the image to get a much more readable Acrobat version.

Once you see it in Acrobat, use the magnification controls to zoom in – and then use the Hand control to move around the image. Sorry it is so big – but then again, so are the problems we have at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.

Please let me know of other issues I should include on Version 2.

PS: This is also now under Documents You Can Download.

Major Win On Deer Ridge Article XII Bylaws – Thoughts and Implications

Robert — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:25:50 +0000

When I pressed at last weekend’s board meeting that Article XII of the Bylaws REQUIRED a 75% vote of ALL owners for ANY improvement to Deer Ridge and that Joe’s Folly Pavilion was illegally built and funded by GGRC HOA fees, I was surprised that GGRC attorney Chuck Sexton seemed surprised by the wording and its requirement. However, after reading Article XII, he IMMEDIATELY pronounced that I was exactly right and that it did, indeed, REQUIRE 75% of the owners to give PRIOR approval for any improvement.

Major Victory

As I mentioned in my previous post:

This means that the Joe’s Folly Pavilion was illegally funded and constructed, the office and pool area improvements were illegally funded and done, the maintenance shed that was just completed was illegally funded and constructed, etc. All totaled, this adds up to more than $120,000 of OUR money that was WRONGLY spent by Joe Thomas at Deer Ridge. Think how much would be available from this to help fund the current Asinine Assessment?

To me, this alone is justification to FIRE Joe Thomas on the spot.

What this MAJOR victory means is that the owners FINALLY have the power for decision making for improvements back in their hands where it belongs. It means that Joey and the Board can no longer go off and spend tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of OUR money on their splurges for improvements…and maybe tell us about it, after the fact.

Don’t Ask / Don’t Tell With Their Own GGRC Attorney

An interesting observation of the above was that the GGRC attorney genuinely seemed surprised by the wording I pointed out on Article XII and its massive implications to the way things have been done here at Deer Ridge for so long. To Chuck’s credit, he objectively and quickly came to the right conclusion – and advised Joe, Luther and the rest of the Board, that I was right – and that they, the Board, had zero choice on this matter.

What that surprise means to me is that Luther, Joe and the Board have NOT been seeking legal advice on the issues I have been raising. Otherwise, they would have already queried Chuck on Article XII on the 75% vote issue – and they would have already gotten his same opinion that they MUST abide by the requirement before doing ANY improvements to Deer Ridge!

Legal “Games” By The GGRC Board

It is almost as if Joe and the Board KNEW they would not win the point – and specifically did not ask their own attorney as a way to avoid legal compliance with the controlling documents of Deer Ridge. That way, they could have continued, forever, usurping the decision making power from all owners so they could implement their own biased agenda out of ALL of our wallets.

Am I the only one that finds this despicable Don’t Ask / Don’t Tell approach to running GGRC outrageous? To me, this alone justifies firing the whole Board, with cause!

Here’s a hint to the Board: I will continue, relentlessly, to do all that I can to finally get Deer Ridge operating correctly, honestly, transparently, fairly, equitably and in COMPLETE conformance with the GGRC Master Deed and Bylaws.

I Am NOT Going To Go Away

You have now seen a sampling that my issues are more than valid…that I am not, as Employee Joe said to his staff about me being, “a ‘blow hard’ who doesn’t’ know what he is talking about…” Hopefully, Luther now knows that I might, just maybe, know more about business than he does. And, that I DO know what I am talking about.

Luther, I recommend that you check with Chuck BEFORE you end up costing GGRC money for lawsuits that could have been avoided if you hadn’t foolishly tried your Don’t Ask / Don’t Tell approach on the other, major issues brought up on this blog.

But do it quickly – those legal actions are coming much sooner than you expect.

Major Successes At Deer Ridge Board Meeting – Four Total – One Major Win!

Robert — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:27:43 +0000

At this weekend’s board meeting, my presence was warmly anticipated by the Board making sure that Chuck Sexton, the GGRC attorney, was there while I was there. He, unfortunately, left right after I left.

While Chuck was argumentative about many of my 17 issues, as it turns out, his presence worked in our favor in several ways.

Three Good Victories + One MAJOR Victory

During my presentation, we got Chuck to get the Board to capitulate on four of our points we have been pushing for. The first three:

The Board and Joey HAVE to give the names and current addresses in writing for ALL owners to any owner who wants them. The Board, and especially Joey, have been fighting this issue against me, Neil and Todd. Chuck make it clear to Luther that he had no choice. Luther ended up asking, “Is that right?” about three times before it finally sunk in. I had to fight this same issue three years ago. I told Luther I wanted the list. He said he would get to it when there was time. Same old slow roll. But now he KNOWS from his own attorney that he is breaking the law.
The Board, at Chuck’s urging, capitulated on owners FINALLY having private mailboxes that are only accessible by the owner and the US Postal Service. Finally, no more mail tampering at Deer Ridge. Joey even committed that the mailboxes would be installed within the two weeks. This is a big deal to all owners who actually live here – so this is a big win to check off the list of demands!
The Board finally capitulated on their absurd two week notice requirement. Now, ANY owner can show up at any Board meeting without ANY notice. FINALLY, this is as it should be. The current official requirement was as follows:“*All board meetings will be open to all owners. Owners who want to attend a meeting must indicate to the secretary two weeks before the meeting in writing their intentions to attend. Additionally, agenda items must be submitted in writing two weeks prior to the meeting.”

THE REALLY MAJOR WIN FOR ALL OWNERS

When I pressed that Article XII of the Bylaws REQUIRED a 75% vote of ALL owners for ANY improvement to Deer Ridge and that Joe’s Folly Pavilion was illegally built and funded by GGRC HOA fees, I was surprised that Chuck seemed surprised by the wording and its requirement. However, after reading it, he pronounced that I was right and that it did, indeed, REQUIRE 75% of the owners to give PRIOR approval for any improvement.

This means that the Joe’s Folly Pavilion was illegally funded and constructed, the office and pool area improvements were illegally funded and done, the maintenance shed that was just completed was illegally funded and constructed, etc. All totaled, this adds up to more than $120,000 of OUR money that was WRONGLY spent by Joe Thomas at Deer Ridge. Think how much would be available from this to help fund the current Asinine Assessment?

To me, this alone is justification to FIRE Joe Thomas on the spot.

What this MAJOR victory means is that the owners FINALLY have the power for decision making for improvements back in their hands where it belongs. It means that Joey and the Board can no longer go off and spend tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of OUR money on their splurges for improvements…and maybe tell us about it, after the fact.

This is HUGE.

So huge, that it is already making an impact on the upcoming Asinine Assessment. The Board was going to go off and replace all of the wood railings with aluminum (an ugly, unaesthetic, expensive solution that would not tie in with the natural wood setting of Deer Ridge.) Now, they are already planning on sending out a letter asking for a 75% vote of approval after Ed Palmer rightfully pointed out that this replacement had a different look, hence it was an improvement and not a maintenance cost.

As readers of this blog know, this 75% vote right has been one of the major issues I have been pushing for – and I am very happy to say that we at least got that one complaint noticed and resolved – primarily due to their attorney being at the meeting. Chuck, thanks for your help on this!

Four GREAT victories this past weekend – but we still have miles to go before we are done getting this property’s operation back under control of ALL owners.

As to the illegally spent $120,000, I want my portion of that money back – and will be pursuing my legal remedies!

Six Weeks Old – Some Blog Statistics – And A Legal Update

Robert — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:52:34 +0000

Some Blog Statistics

I started this Deer Ridge Owners Blog about six weeks ago.

During that time, we have had:

38 posts with 82 comments, six pages and 20 different categories. (I am getting a LOT of other, mostly encouraging, email from owners and others who support our cause – but who prefer, currently, to remain anonymous.)
We have had 1,089 unique visitors, looking at 7,216 page views – that is a huge number of visitors for a small 84 unit condo – and a huge average number of pages viewed per visitor (6.63 pages per visitor) – so the visitors who come, read what has been written.
3,031 Internet spider visits – this is a separate count for all the times Google , Yahoo, etc, come visit and re-index the updates here. As a consequence, we are showing up very high on a lot of Google searches for Deer Ridge, Gatlinburg this or that, including rentals, condos for sale, etc.
We have had 824 RSS feeds – so a lot of folks want to automatically see every word that shows up on DeerRidgeOwners.com.
The metrics target for the blog this month, November 2009, is for us to have 1,200 unique visitors just this month – so apparently we are ramping up fast in traffic.
We apparently have a LOT of local real estate brokers watching – as well as other HOA members – both locally and from all over the country – wanting to see the outcome of our legal actions we are taking against the GGRC and Ridge Management boards – and all of the board members and Joe Thomas individually.
Apparently, a lot of other web sites and blogs that are focused on bad HOA management and board members are adding links to DeerRidgeOwners.com. (Note: you are welcome to include links to this blog if you have your own blog or website fighting your own HOA.)
We have heard that several local real estate brokers in the Gatlinburg area are recommending that their clients NOT buy at Deer Ridge UNTIL these major issues raised on this Deer Ridge Owners Blog are finally resolved. Several brokers have mentioned that if our lawsuits are successful, that the impact will probably be a HUGE increase in market value for many of the units here.

Here’s a screen grab of the stats:

Legal Update

Quick update…still interviewing attorneys…and biz is booming so been swamped with work that pays the bills…and all this lawsuit stuff is very time consuming…but still a life priority for me to get this suit in place ASAP. Class action will still be eventual best approach due to nature of all of our claims….but class action seems too complicated for a lot of small law firms…and apparently takes a while to set up….so, will be filing a smaller, individualized suit to start with….on the most basic points.

Right now, I am most interested in getting a quick court ruling on the following basic points to get the Board and Joey under control. I may even still end up doing these as one or more small claims actions just to get the ball rolling.

Once the precedents are set with rulings on the below points, LOTS of derivative lawsuits can be IMMEDIATELY brought forward…

Minimized Litigation Points To Keep Costs Low And Expedite Ruling – The First Five Points

Decision by the Court that Article V of the Master Deed in no way gives the Board and/or the General Manager the right to circumvent or trump the other provisions of the Master Deed and/or Bylaws and does not give the Board and/or the General Manager carte blanche to bypass the vote and opinions of the owners of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.
That the Board must ALWAYS use complete and constant applicability of the Master Deed Percentages to EVERY cost, monthly fee, assessment, etc. for all units at Deer Ridge.
Recovery of my personal $10,000 plus overcharge by the Board not following the Master Deed Percentages along with interest at the highest legal rate, at least treble damages, court costs and legal fees plus additional, other full reimbursements and/or damages for all other wrongdoings committed by Joe Thomas and/or the Board.
Decision by the Court that the formation and operation of Ridge Management Limited, AKA RML, is not, in any way, a Common Expense, for GGRC as defined by the Master Deed and Bylaws and, as a consequence, any and all costs, fees, charges and assessments related to the formation and operation of RML were wrongly allocated to the past and current owners of units at Deer Ridge.
That the Board and Joe Thomas, or his replacement, are required to provide all owners with copies of any and all books and records related in any way to the ownership and operation of GGRC, RML and or the operations of the Common Property.

Other Tack On Points To First Lawsuit Claims Subject To Cost and Time – The Second Five Points

That secure, individualized mailboxes be installed for all owners as a Common Expense so that mail tampering can be minimized and have the property meet US postal code requirements for individualized mail delivery for multi-family residential developments.
That the Board be required to allow last minute attendance by any and all owners to all meetings related in any way to Deer Ridge Mountain Resort and for time set aside for attendees participation and comments.
That the Board be required to digitally audio record all parts of any and all meetings in any way related to GGRC and/or related entities in a legible manner and for those recordings to be made available online to all owners.
That the current special assessment for $353,500 be quashed until such time as the true and correct evaluation of the financial status of GGRC is settled and established by this lawsuit.
That the Board be required to offer any and all services, use of personnel and maintenance staff, etc. on an equal basis to all owners without discrimination of any kind.

I believe if the first set of lawsuits are strictly limited to these above issues, that it should not be very complicated at all to try this case – just have the judge or jury decide the proper interpretation of the existing documents.

After The First Win…

Once we get a clear ruling on the REAL meanings of our existing documents, then Joey’s and the Board’s house of cards will quickly collapse on everything else.

And, once we all have access to ALL the books and records on OUR property, we can then quickly discover what financial shenanigans have REALLY been going on at Deer Ridge – and what, if any, fraud and criminal misappropriations and / or embezzlement may or may not have been stealing OUR money from the Deer Ridge accounts.

If you would like to help with the legal fees to finally get Joey and the Board under control – and help all owners finally take back control of Deer Ridge, I invite you to click on the DONATE button in the RIGHT column of this blog.

Well, that’s the current game plan….stay tuned. We live in VERY interesting times.

PS: On Suing Ourselves

A few owners have voiced some concerns about me suing err ME when I sue GGRC – and where will the money come from if I, and the other 1-1 owners, win?

Well, I have personally been grossly overcharged more than TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS – and I want my money back. The thing is, virtually EVERY 1-1 owner has been similarly grossly overcharged – and my guess is that they want THEIR money back, too. Fair is fair.

For me, the natural place to get this money – and even the money for the rehab of Deer Ridge that REALLY needs to be spent – can all be covered from found money – the money GGRC should receive from the arm’s length sale of RML to another property management company – once GGRC is forced to sell it from the above court actions. I have experience selling my own, much larger property management company, so I know the right way to do this – and how to maximize the proceeds from a sale of RML – for the benefit of GGRC and all owners.

The other pockets I fully expect to get my money back from are those belonging to the individuals who are our board members and Joe Thomas, General Manager. If we show in court that they are either fraudulent AND / OR grossly negligent – then they are not protected and can be individually sued – with judgments against them that can be collected on.

So, I don’t see it as suing ourselves at all – but suing those individuals who have tried their best to subvert the governing documents that define the way things SHOULD be done at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

We Are * In Play * – As They Say On Wall St. – Attorney Contacts Commenced For Deer Ridge HOA Lawsuit

Robert — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:41:06 +0000

The dance has begun. I contacted 28 area law firms today.

These were ones where I checked out their web sites, their areas of practice, etc. to help make sure there is a mutual match between their focal points and our specific needs. It’s a slow process – but one that I hope will help us expedite finding the right law firm, expedite filing out lawsuit(s) against Deer Ridge HOA, et al – and expedite us all finally getting justice. I plan on contacting more over the next several days – until I find one that is, indeed, a mutual match.

Meanwhile, the Board members still have their collective heads buried in other body parts – apparently so scared about what is getting ready to happen, that they are afraid to even respond to me – or other owners.

Stay tuned – we are about to live in VERY interesting times.

Seeking Legal Representation – RFP – HOA Lawsuits

Robert — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:48:22 +0000

***** Major News Flash! ***** ***** Major News Flash! ***** ***** Major News Flash! *****

The following is a standard, automated email that I plan on sending to 200-400 law firms in Knox, Blount and Sevier Counties with the goal of soliciting the best legal representation in our upcoming class action lawsuits concerning Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.

We will probably leave this posted for 1-2 days here on the blog before we do our mass email. This will give other owners a chance to contribute other ideas and suggestions for expanding these lawsuits to include any grievances I may have overlooked in drafting the below RFP. Then, again, we may just go ahead and get this thing started – and amend the RFP before choosing a winning law firm. We do want to do all we can to expedite getting these lawsuits filed so that we can finally start seeing the desperately needed changes at Deer Ridge for ALL owners’ benefit.

We also plan on sending copies of this email with links to the Deer Ridge Owners blog to all of the local media. We believe that many in the TV, radio and print media will find the shenanigans of Joe Thomas and the Board VERY interesting since so much of the population is involved with home owners associations – and their own petty tyrants. As a matter of fact, this may be of so much interest, especially with the Great Recession, that national media picks up on the story.

The great parts about this media exposure is that it will drive a huge amount of traffic to the blog and the news stories will go to the top of every search engine for queries on Deer Ridge, Gatlinburg rentals, Gatlinburg real estate, properties for sale, etc. Also, some of the news media have “On Your Side” spotlight investigations that might help us expedite resolution of so many of the problems we have here at Deer Ridge. And, with everything laid out so completely on the blog, there is already a wealth of content readily available for review.

Stay tuned to this blog for updates to this pivotal legal action aimed at finally giving ALL owners full access to the information they deserve about their investment and property – and to stop the misallocation of Common Expenses and have the costs of ownership at Deer Ridge reflective of the property’s Master Deed and Bylaws.

Request For Proposal – Legal Representation For Lawsuit(s) Against Homeowners Association Gatlinburg Golf and Racquet Club, Ridge Management Ltd., Ridge Resort Realty and Individual Board Members and Its General Manager

Summary

I am seeking legal representation either as an individual, or as class representative, for either one direct lawsuit, or as one or two class action lawsuits against our Home Owners Association, its Board of Directors individually, and related parties, for their substantive, multiple violations of our Master Deed and Bylaws, along with suspected fraudulent activities – with expected actual, aggregate damages ranging from $2 million to $10 million.

(While the below discussion anticipates class action, I also want to do all that I can to expedite these suits. As a consequence, if it accelerates results, these issues can be all litigated with me as an individual plaintiff – with the success of my case being used later as a precedent for class action.)

The Proposed Defendants

The proposed defendants for these lawsuits include

Gatlinburg Golf and Racquet Club, AKA GGRC, AKA Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, Gatlinburg, Tennessee and its affiliated subsidiaries, Ridge Management Limited, AKA RML and Ridge Resort Realty.
Its General Manager Joe Thomas, individually.
Its current board members, individually, including: Luther Parker, Tom Reise, Larry Ohm, David Barone and Margie Duncan. Full contact information on all members of the Board and for Joe Thomas can be found by clicking Joe and The Board.
Hickman and Company, PC, the accounting firm that has “audited” the GGRC and RML financial statements for the past several years.
Other, prior members of the Board of Directors, individually, to be named at a later time.

Who Am I – And Why Do I Want to Be The Representative In A Class Action Suit?

I have been the owner of a 1-1 condo at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort for the past 50 months. I am also the operator of the blog, www.DeerRidgeOwners.com which details many owner complaints and our perception of multiple violations committed by General Manager Joe Thomas and the Board of Directors of our Homeowners Association.

One of the primary violations we seek to litigate is the Board’s capricious and biased allocation of Common Expenses in direct violation of the Master Deed and Bylaws – and the clear Percentage for all Common Expenses set there by unit type.

According to our calculations, this one violation has already harmed me, individually, with an overcharge of more than $10,000 in the past four years we have owned here – and I continue to be overcharged monthly with an ongoing annual overcharge of more than $2,400 just for the HOA fee, water and cable TV charges. This does not include the additional $1,200 overcharge resulting from the just announced special assessment which requires all owners to aggregately fund $353,500.

All 1-1 Units at Deer Ridge, all of them virtually identical to our unit in size and design, have suffered, and continue to suffer, my same level of overcharges – past, present and future.

Also, as a result of this $2,400 overcharge, along with similar overcharges when it comes to special assessments, these actions have significantly reduced the market value of all 1-1 units by thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars. Likewise, these overcharges on 1-1 units may have forced prior owners to prematurely sell their units, forced some into foreclosure and even bankruptcy.

There are 30 1-1 units, representing 36% of the 84 total units at Deer Ridge, that all have identical claims for this first class action suit. This lawsuit would represent myself along with the other current 29 owners PLUS dozens, if not hundreds, of prior 1-1 owners who have been similarly aggrieved.

The amount of actual, direct losses for this class could easily range from $600,000 to $3 million in claims against Gatlinburg Golf and Racquet Club, AKA GGRC, AKA Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, Gatlinburg, Tennessee and its affiliated subsidiaries, Ridge Management Limited, AKA RML and Ridge Resort Realty, its Board, individual board members and General Manager and Principal Broker, Joe Thomas.

The above estimates are just for the out-of-pocket overcharges and do not represent money damages, punitive damages, interest, court costs and legal fees. And, these are just the amounts for the overcharges to the 1-1 units – and do not include the other claims that ALL owners have against these same parties for other violations of the Master Deed and Bylaws which are described below.

It is our contention that the Board and the General Manager knowingly ignored the Master Deed Percentage and by doing so, committed fraud against all 1-1 unit owners.

The Primary Problems And Issues We Want To Solve With Litigation Regarding The Board and General Manager

The Board and General Manager refuse to follow the requirements of the Master Deed and Bylaws.
They refuse to allocate charges in accordance with the Master Deed Percentages resulting in all 30 one bedroom units, comprising 36% of all units, paying TWICE the amounts that should be paid for monthly HOA fees, Common Expenses and special allocations. This has been going on for years, resulting in me personally being overcharged by more than $10,000 during the past 50 months.
The Board started two operating businesses, RML and Ridge Resort Realty, and charged all owners with monthly and special assessments to pay for the costs of operating these companies. The Master Deed and Bylaws do not provide for these being approved Common Expenses and the Board has misappropriated funds for these illegal operating companies.
The Board refuses to communicate and answer questions from owners and be held accountable for their actions and inactions.
They refuse to allow owners to have copies of any and all books and records of GGRC, RML and related entities and persons and any and all associated costs. They do all that they can to block all access to information that all owners should be able to easily access about their own HOA.
They recently issued a special assessment to all owners in the aggregate amount of $353,500. In spite of sweeping line items of “Wood = $40,000 and Nuts and Bolts = $50,000″, they refuse to allow any owners to have copies of the underlying bids that justify these amounts.
With regard to the special assessment, we want to quash it for all owners – until such time as each and every underlying number is justified to the satisfaction of a majority of owners – and even then, when the timeline for collection of funds versus expenditures of monies make sense.
In spite of mail tampering complaints that have been filed with postal inspectors, the Board refuses to install individualized mailboxes that are secure, in and out, for all owners – and that comply with post office requirements for a residential multi-family property.
They approved improvements and new construction in total amounts exceeding $100,000 – when any such improvements require a 75% vote of the owners according to Article XII of the Master Deed. However, no such vote is ever taken.
They discriminate against those owners who do not rent their units through RML and discriminate even more harshly against those owners who live in their units.
General Manager Joe Thomas has personally accosted several owners, including my wife, in a threatening manner, yelling that she is not allowed to talk to HIS employees or guests who are renting units from RML - he attempts to intimidate owners into believing he has some right and authority to control the owners’ free speech. The Board, when informed of these unacceptable and nefarious actions, has done nothing to control, censor or terminate this out-of-control employee.
The Board refuses to allow the Board meetings to be recorded with either audio or video recording devices so that the meetings could be shared with all owners who are spread coast to coast.
The Board requires two weeks’ notice if any owners want to attend any Board meeting – and even then may not allow owners to participate in the agenda.
It is our very strong belief that the Board and the General Manager are so resistive to owners’ access to information about their property and investment in an attempt to hide wrongful actions and/or fraud that go well beyond the above mentioned issues. Until we get access to all information and can complete a forensic audit of all books, we cannot know the scope or the existence of this alleged fraud.

Additional Problems And Issues Caused By Joe Thomas as General Manager and Principal Broker of Ridge Resort Realty

From the Ridge Resort Realty web site:

Ridge Management Ltd., Inc. (RML) is the rental agency for Deer Ridge Mountain Resort. RML is owned by Gatlinburg Golf & Racquet Club, the Homeowners Association for the owners of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort Condominiums. This rental program is operated by the Board of Directors of Gatlinburg Golf & Racquet Club, and the Board members are elected by the home owners.

Joe Thomas serves as General Manager of both GGRC and RML and as Principal Broker of Ridge Resort Realty, another affiliated company of RML – creating a HUGE issue with conflicts of interest to the detriment of Deer Ridge Owners. Joe Thomas and the Board run this property as if it were a motel – publicly chastising and villainizing those owners who do not choose to rent their units using RML – or, God forbid, live in their units.

We contend that through his position as Principal Broker of the on site real estate company, Joe Thomas has attempted to control the ownership of units here by encouraging only those potential buyers who indicate a willingness to rent their units through RML while dissuading others who want to live in their unit, not rent it, or if they want to rent it themselves. Other brokers in the area have indicated an unwillingness to work with Joe Thomas or list units at Deer Ridge or even co-broker units because of his strong bias to only sell to those who want to use RML. Because of this inherent conflict of interest, the market values of units at Deer Ridge have been severely depressed when it comes to resale, thereby penalizing all owners.

We believe this negative market impact on resell prices is actionable for money damages exceeding $1 million in a class action suit representing all current and past owners of Deer Ridge units.

The Board’s Sole Defense For All Of Their Actions

The Board and General Manager have ruled this property for years as if it is their own private domain, their own private corporation – with them choosing what rules to follow from the Master Deed and what rules to ignore – in order to run this 84 unit condo property as an operating company for revenue – instead of properly administering it as a home owners association to take care of the limited business requirements of a small residential development.

In order to get away with their fiefdom, they have always answered the criticisms of other owners by solely relying on their intentional or unintentional misinterpretation of Article V of the Master Deed:

Their ingenuous interpretation of this Article V is based on the phrase “unless provided otherwise by the Board of Directors.” In their interpretation, this one clause, by itself, gives the Board TOTAL power to “provide” otherwise on virtually ALL decisions that they want made at Deer Ridge. With this interpretation, they have:

Ignored the required dates for annual meetings.
Started and operated a for-profit company, Ridge Management Ltd., and required owners to fund this company with monthly HOA fees and special assessments – even though it is NOT an approved Common Expense!
Started and operated a for-profit company, Ridge Resort Realty, and required owners to fund this company with monthly HOA fees and special assessments – even though it is NOT an approved Common Expense!
They spent over $80,000 of owners’ money on a pavilion that has been an economic fiasco – even though they never sought or received the required 75% vote of the owners.
They chose their own, completely arbitrary allocation of HOA fees, pass through charges for other expenses like water and cable TV, special assessments – even though the costs for these must be made in accordance with the Master Deed Percentages.
The list goes on – but the point is that this one clause is ALL they have had to point to in order to totally justify their actions.

It is our contention that this language does NOT provide for that power, that the Board and the General Manager KNEW it did not give them that power – and as a consequence, their reliance on that clause represents fraudulent behavior that has cost current and past owners MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

If we can show with our class action lawsuits that this clause is NOT the trump card for all the rest of the Master Deed and the Bylaws, the proposed defendants will have ZERO other defense to point to – and their complete house of cards will quickly collapse.

The Real Meaning of Article V

Article V ONLY refers to “obligations of the Co-Owners under any agreements entered into by the Association…” The most fundamental point is that the Association is limited by the Master Deed and the Bylaws as to what they are ALLOWED to agree to. The Association cannot enter into any agreement that is outside their power – and those limitations are set by the Master Deed and Bylaws. Hence:

The Board cannot set any agreements that change the Master Deed Percentage.
They cannot change the definition of what are Common Expenses – and then charge all owners to support for-profit companies like RML and Ridge Resort Management.
They cannot sign an agreement to build an $80,000 pavilion when the Master Deed and ignore the 75% owner vote required described in the Master Deed.

Clearly, the Board’s all important interpretation of Article V is not only nonsense – it is a fraudulent attempt by this small group of insiders to usurp the power of the 84 owners and run this property as a risky property management company. Worse still is the fact that they benefit from the property management company’s operation – especially General Manager Joe Thomas – without the usual risks of running a business. Because they know when there is a deficient – or they make bad decisions – or run out of money for whatever reason, they can just go to the owners, declare a special assessment and force the owners to fund their for-profit business!

It is our additional contention, that not only was all of this part fraudulent – but that certain individuals have additionally ripped off this property and its owners of untold amounts of money from insider deals, kickbacks and other nefarious schemes that have personally enriched a few at the expense of the many.

Undisclosed Additional Risks From Purchasing Deer Ridge Condos

Purchasing a condo unit offers the usual risks associated with any real estate purchase. Because of the inappropriate actions of the Board and the General Manager, purchasing a condo unit at Deer Ridge has forced all buyers to also participate in the additional and much higher risk of funding operating deficients for two start up companies in the highly competitive businesses of property management and residential real estate brokerage.

These risks have never been properly disclosed to ANY buyers of units at Deer Ridge and are, in themselves, causes for class action representing ALL current and past owners of all unit types at Deer Ridge.

Pertinent Sections From The Master Deed And Bylaws

The following are snippets from the ruling documents for Deer Ridge.

The Master Deed – Property Rights and Percentage of Interest

In order for the Master Deed To Be Amended:

For example, if 100% of ALL owners and all their mortgage holders approved a change from the very explicit Master Deed Percentages, then the Board would have approval then to provide “otherwise” than the Master Deed Percentages….no matter what the General Manager and Board want and wish for, their Article V does not give them the right to change the Master Deed Percentages and Article XII of the Bylaws.

Otherwise, all of the very explicit language of Article XII of the Bylaws below and the specific percentages of the above Exhibit 2 to the Master Deed would not have needed to ever be included!

Article IX Assessments

According to Article IX of The Master Deed – Assessments: these are the ONLY legitimate reasons that owners can be charged assessments for their unit at Deer Ridge.

Note that the Common Expenses ONLY include what is “necessary for the care, repair, replacement, maintenance, preservation and improvement of the Submitted Property and shall establish and maintain a adequate reserve fund to cover these periodic expenses.”

What that means is that the Board can decide the right amounts for the Common Expenses and charge that to all owners in accordance with the Master Deed Percentages – but they CANNOT go off and set up an operating business and charge owners for funds to operate that business!!!

Hence, Ridge Management, AKA RML Is Illegally Formed And Funded With Owners’ Assessment Dollars!

All owners do NOT benefit from RML (actually, my contention is that no Deer Ridge owners benefit from RML) – so Joe Thomas and the Board, through either gross negligence and/or fraud, have funded RML through illegal assessments to all owners of Deer Ridge. Additionally, it is my contention that the full extent of this illegal funding to RML has been intentionally hidden in the budgets submitted by Joe Thomas and the Board – and those fraudulent budgets are the budgets shown to all owners.

When I bought my property at Deer Ridge, it was with the idea and knowledge that I was making a real estate investment – with all of the potential risks and rewards that are a normal part of real estate.

However, as a result of the Board and Joe Thomas knowingly and, in my opinion, illegally starting and funding RML, I and all other past and current owners at Deer Ridge have been FORCED to participate in the business risks of an operating business. In this case, it is for a property management company that does NOT benefit all owners.

This Is The Part That Requires The Board To Have A 75% Vote Of The Owners BEFORE Any Alterations or Additions – Such As The Pavilion And Other Major Improvements

The “Gang Of Five +1″

Article V is all that I know of that they have to hang their hat on…and I am HIGHLY confident that a judge would quickly and easily rule their claim almost laughable in light of the other very specific provisions of the Master Deed and the Bylaws.

My guess is that they have been erroneously, if not intentionally and fraudulently, pointing to this Article V to justify their little fiefdom for years. Although some board members may have never looked deeper into the rest of the documents, I consider that action alone as gross negligence. It would be inexcusable that a board member, elected to that position, would not thoroughly read and understand ever nuance of the governing documents for the Association for which they serve. That’s one reason we will have to litigate this and all the other stuff to finally make these points crystal clear to Joe Thomas and the Board.

The Board and General Manager use this one clause in Article V to bypass everything else in the Master Deed and Bylaws that does not match what they personally want to do – the way they personally want things done. This “Gang of Five” people who comprise the Board along with the leadership of the long-time General Manager, Joe Thomas, have effectively set up their own kingdom in which they alone get to choose who gets charged how much for what – irrespective of the Master Deed and Bylaws – and bypassing the owners’ participation in the decision making of their investment and their property.

I believe that if we can quickly dismiss any consideration that Article V can ever overrule, or trump, the other requirements of the Master Deed and Bylaws, the Board and Joe Thomas will have no other viable defense of any kind – against ANY of our claims. This may be so clear cut that we may be able to move for a Summary Judgment on this one point as a predicate for litigating all the other points.

Also, if we can show that they have had knowledge that Article V did not give them the power they so often touted and exercised, then, in my opinion, we can pursue fraud against any and all of them, allowing us to pierce the indemnification clause of the Bylaws and Master Deed – making each of them personally liable for reimbursement and money damages.

The Following All Falls Apart For Joe Thomas and The Board Upon A Ruling that Article V Does NOT Trump And Have Precedence Over The Other Articles In The Master Deed And Bylaws

All recent annual meetings and the election of officers and board members, approval of all budgets, etc. are all null and void.
The Board’s dictatorial hold over the HOA and the way money is spent, and in what quantities on whatever they personally want, will be stopped.
RML and Ridge Resort Realty will be found to be illegally formed and operated – and an invalid Common Expense.
The Pavilion and other major capital improvements will be found to have been done without proper approval of 75% of the owners.
The withholding of copies of all books and records to any and all owners will be invalid.

Points We Want To Litigate:

Decision by the Court that Article V of the Master Deed in no way gives the Board and/or the General Manager the right to circumvent or trump the other provisions of the Master Deed and/or Bylaws – and does not give the Board and/or the General Manager carte blanche to bypass the vote and opinions of the owners of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.
That the Board must ALWAYS use complete and constant applicability of the Master Deed Percentages to EVERY cost, monthly fee, assessment, etc. for all units at Deer Ridge.
Recovery of our $10,000 plus overcharge by the Board not following the Master Deed Percentages – along with interest at the highest legal rate, at least treble damages, court costs and legal fees – plus additional, other full reimbursements and/or damages for all other wrongdoings committed by Joe Thomas and/or the Board.
Decision by the Court that the formation and operation of Ridge Management Limited, AKA RML, is not, in any way, a Common Expense, for GGRC as defined by the Master Deed and Bylaws and, as a consequence, any and all costs, fees, charges and assessments related to the formation and operation of RML were wrongly allocated to the past and current owners of units at Deer Ridge.
That the Board and General Manager Joe Thomas were either grossly negligent and/or fraudulent in their attempts to ignore the cost allocations of the Master Deed Percentages; move forward with the illegal formation and operation of RML; and the construction of the pavilion at the property and other capital improvements were done without the required 75% vote of the owners as provided for in Article XII of the Master Deed.
That, if the Board and the General Manager are found to be grossly negligent and/or fraudulent, that:
- They are no longer protected in any way with the indemnification clauses of the Master Deed or Bylaws.
- They must hire their own attorneys, separate from those attorneys representing GGRC, RML or Ridge Resort Realty.
- They are individually liable, both jointly and severally, for any and all claims for repayment of misallocations, penalties, interest, court costs and attorney fees.
That the Board’s and General Manager Joe Thomas’ dependence upon Article V of the Master Deed to usurp complete power over the owners of Deer Ridge was fraudulent because they knowingly were wrongfully referencing that Article to deny owners access to information and to block demands that the Master Deed be fully followed.
That the Board and Joe Thomas, or his replacement, are required to provide all owners with copies of any and all books and records related in any way to the ownership and operation of GGRC, RML and or the operations of the Common Property.
That an independent auditor be hired and paid for by GGRC and placed under my administration and direction to complete a comprehensive forensic audit of every dollar spent that in any way supported or funded any activity or monies spend regarding GGRC, RML or Ridge Resort Realty, their employees and all other direct and indirect costs associated in any way with GGRC or any related entity or person.
That, having resolved that RML was wrongfully formed and operated, that:
- An independent auditor be hired and paid for by GGRC and placed under my administration and direction to complete a comprehensive forensic audit of every dollar spent that in any way supported or funded RML or Ridge Resort Realty, its employees and all other direct and indirect costs associated in any way with RML and Ridge Resort Realty.
- That those amounts that funded RML and Ridge Resort Realty be returned to those owners who paid them.
- That the individuals who served on the Board and as General Manager be held personally liable for the return of all costs associated with RML as a consequence of their gross negligence and/or fraud.
- That RML and Ridge Resort Realty be expeditiously sold under my administration and direction to the highest bidders who are not currently associated with RML, GGRC and any other related entities.
That, having resolved that the Pavilion was wrongly constructed and operated and that other capital expenditures were wrongly made, that:
- An independent auditor be hired and paid for by GGRC and placed under my administration and direction to complete a comprehensive forensic audit of very dollar spent that in any way supported or funded the pavilion or other wrongful capital expenditures, including any and all direct and indirect costs.
- That those amounts that funded the Pavilion and other wrongful capital expenditures be returned to those owners who paid them.
- That the individuals who served on the Board and as General Manager be held personally liable for the return of all costs associated with the pavilion and other wrongful capital expenditures as a consequence of their gross negligence and/or fraud.
That, as a result of their gross negligence and/or fraud, the entire Board and the General Manager be fired for cause.
That secure, individualized mailboxes be installed for all owners as a Common Expense so that mail tampering can be minimized and have the property meet US postal code requirements for individualized mail delivery for multi-family residential developments.
That the Board be required to allow last minute attendance by any and all owners to all meetings related in any way to Deer Ridge Mountain Resort and for time set aside for attendee’s participation and comments.
That the Board be required to digitally audio record all parts of any and all meetings in any way related to GGRC and/or related entities in a legible manner and for those recordings to be made available online to all owners.
That the current special assessment for $353,500 be quashed until such time as the true and correct evaluation of the financial status of GGRC is settled and established by this lawsuit.
That the Board be required to offer any and all services, use of personnel and maintenance staff, etc. on an equal basis to all owners without discrimination of any kind.
Other issues to be identified based on discovery, interrogatories and/or depositions – including any and all gross negligence, gross incompetence and/or fraud that may be uncovered – whether civil or criminal.

Qualifying As A Class Action Lawsuit – Or Two

It is my understanding that we need to meet the following four requirements:

(1) The number of class members renders it impracticable to join them in the action, (2) the class members’ claims share common questions of law or fact, (3) the claims or defenses of the proposed class representatives are typical of those for the rest of the class, and (4) the proposed class representatives will adequately protect the interests of the entire class.

We believe that all 1-1 unit owners, both current and past, represent 30 current owners and hundreds of past owners, who have been systematically overcharged thousands of dollars every year for many years. All of us share the same questions of law or fact, with my claims being totally typical of the class and as class representative I will protect the interests of the entire class as evidenced by my blog, www.DeerRidgeOwners.com.

It is my understanding that, in addition to the numerosity, commonality, typicality and adequacy of representation requirements discussed above, the district court must make at least one of the following findings: (1) Requiring separate actions by or against the class members would create the risk of inconsistent rulings, or a ruling with respect to individual class members may be dispositive of other class member claims, thereby substantially impairing or impeding their ability to protect their interests; (2) the party against whom the class seeks relief has acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class so that injunctive or declaratory relief as to the entire class would be appropriate; or (3) common questions of law or fact common predominate over class-member–specific questions, and that proceeding by way of class action would be superior to other available methods for resolving the dispute.

Based on all of the above information, I believe that all three requirements would be met – making this case ideal as a class action suit.

While the above would be one class action suit just for those past and present owners of 1-1 units, it is my belief that all the other litigation issues not related to wrongful percentage allocation of costs would apply as a second class action suit representing ALL current and past owners of ALL unit types at Deer Ridge. In this second class action case, I believe I would also meet all four fundamental requirements along with the other three requirements for being the class representative.

It is for this reason that I propose that we move forward with two separate class action suits: one for 1-1 units and one for all units.

Litigation Approach

Our strong preference is to find an experienced class action law firm that will handle this case on a contingency basis. However, other fee approaches may be considered. We believe this will be a reasonably fast case – since it almost solely rides on the applicability of Article V in trumping the clear provisions of the Master Deed and Bylaws.

The above litigation goals are simply the starting points that I recommend based on my limited knowledge of the law. We are, of course, looking for experienced legal experts who can represent us and adjust our claims for the maximum benefits to all class participants.

Availability Of Information

If you look at my blog, www.DeerRidgeOwners.com I believe you will see that I have already done a lot of the legwork and heavy lifting for these lawsuits. I invite you to read through all the postings and owner comments to quickly gain insights into the various problems at Deer Ridge that we believe are directly caused by the Board and General Manager, Joe Thomas.

In the left column of the blog, you can also see a section called, “Documents You Can Download.” There, you will be able to immediately get copies of some of the pivotal documents concerning this case.

Specific posts on the blog may be of interest:

Also, please look at their web sites www.DeerRidge.com and www.RidgeResortRealty.com for more information on some of the defendants and their propaganda.

I can also work with you to expedite a list of discovery items to immediately pursue once the lawsuits are filed.

Interested In Representing Us?

If you and your law firm are interested in representing us in this case, please provide me with the following:

Your preliminary summary opinion regarding the case.
Your proposal including timeline, fee structure, expense coverage and any expected strategy and tactics.
Information on you and your law firm.
Your specific experience with litigation for class action suits and with homeowners associations.
References

You can reach me at Litigation@DeerRidgeOwners.com – please let me know if you have any questions.

Time Is Of The Essence!

My goal is to expedite the selection process for legal counsel and to have these suits filed by the end of October 2009.

Thank you for your time and consideration of our request for proposal.

Robert

Response From Luther Parker / Board of Directors of Deer Ridge AKA GGRC

Robert — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:37:51 +0000

This is an email I received from Luther Parker and the Board of Directors in response to all of my emails and posting on this blog:

You have presented a number of issues and concerns (via emails) that you would like the Board to consider. We think these could be best addressed in a face to face meeting. Our November meeting (November 13) is open for you to present whatever concerns you might wish the Board to take under advisement. If there is a specific time on Friday morning that you would like to appear, please let us know and we will place that on our agenda

Regards,

The Board – Gatlinburg Golf and Racquet Club – Ridge Management Limited

My Response To Luther and the Board, emailed to them October 9, 2009:

Luther,

I would have to 100% disagree with you that “these (issues) could be best addressed in a face to face meeting.”

In my opinion, Deer Ridge has suffered way too long and way too much as a result of back room, undocumented, unrecorded meetings when threats are made and deals are cut – to the exclusion of the light of day and the scrutiny of all owners of Deer Ridge.

These issues that I have raised, in fact, could be best addressed by detailed, written documents and emails that can be pointed to and recorded and posted on the Deer Ridge Owners blog. This is Management 101 stuff – avoid ambiguity, bad memories and misunderstandings by putting EVERYTHING in writing.

The meeting you speak of is 5 weeks off…so I see you suggestion for a face to face meeting then as nothing more than a stall tactic. If you want a face to face meeting, then here at Deer Ridge on Monday, October 12 would be fine.

Know, however, before the end of October, my intent is to have already filed two class-action lawsuits against GGRC, RML, and individuals who we believe have been guilty of either gross negligence and/or fraud having to do with their involvement with the management and operation of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort. We will probably also name Hickman and Company, PC, the accounting firm that has “audited” the GGRC and RML financial statements for the past several years – and many past and present members of the Board, individually.

Details of my intent with these lawsuits – and why there will probably be two separate class-action suits – are openly described in several recent postings at the Deer Ridge Owners Blog at www.DeerRidgeOwners.com. It might, just maybe, be worth your time, and the time of all board members, to read these recent postings.

I want to do all that I can to have these lawsuits in place prior to the next Board meeting in November – so that the current Board members, while they are here in Gatlinburg for the meeting, can have their individual depositions taken for these lawsuits.

However, in answer to your question, please do put me, and my attorney, on your agenda at 11:00 AM on Friday the 13th. Note, I WILL be recording the meeting and all else that transpires there with my digital audio recorder…and posting that audio on the Deer Ridge Owners blog for ALL owners to hear.

I am tired of getting an intolerable run around from Joe Thomas, you and the Board – and I am going to do something about it – to solve these problems for all owners – once and for all.

You and the Board have blatantly, and with intent, ignored my and many other owners’ questions, issues and request for documents for years – and your actions, and inactions, have left me no choice but to file these lawsuits. So the responsibility and costs for all that is getting ready to happen, and their consequences, rest squarely on your shoulders.

Luther, if you have any SERIOUS interest in trying to stop these two lawsuits, I might be swayed by your IMMEDIATE and COMPREHENSIVE written answers to each and every question and issue I have raised – and your written instructions to Joe Thomas to provide me my own copies of EVERY book, record and document I request, without limitation or delay.

Bear in mind that I WILL get this same information and answers to all my questions within weeks of filing my lawsuits. As soon as the lawsuit(s) is (are) filed, specific motions will be immediately filed for significant production of documents, interrogatories requiring completion by all Board members, past and present, employees and managers of GGRC and RML. So, you would be advised to give it all up now with the hope that these lawsuits might be averted.

If you agree to the above, I want your agreement and instructions to Joe Thomas, via email no later than 3 PM EDT today, October 9, 2009…with your written answers to all questions and issues submitted by me and all other owners no later than 3 PM EDT Monday, October 12, 2009.

Any other decision by you and the Board will be viewed as a conscious decision to move forward with these lawsuits. The choice is yours – right here, right now.

The clock is ticking.

Robert

A-202

Class-Action Lawsuits – Coming Soon To A HOA Near You

Robert — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:53:00 +0000

We have pretty much decided that Small Claims Court is, well, too small…for all of our claims we keep uncovering at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.

Based on our research, we are now aggressively pursuing either one and probably two class-action lawsuits against GGRC, RML, and individuals who we believe have been guilty of either gross negligence and/or fraud having to do with their involvement with the management and operation of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort. We will probably also name Hickman and Company, PC, the accounting firm that has “audited” the GGRC and RML financial statements for the past several years.

Good News

The good news is that if we can prove there was gross negligence and/or fraud involved, then those who committed the negligence and/or fraud can be held individually liable – and we can get our monies from them personally – instead of GGRC. And, that applies to both current AND past members of the Board.

More good news is that it appears that I can initiate the class-action lawsuit(s) by myself – and others can opt-in later if they want to share in the award.

The other good news about class-action lawsuits is that it appears that you can find lots of high-powered attorneys who will handle the case strictly on a contingency basis – which means it will cost little or nothing to bring suit and FINALLY start solving all the massive problems here at Deer Ridge.

As soon as the lawsuit(s) is (are) filed, specific motions will be immediately filed for significant production of documents, interrogatories requiring completion by all Board members, past and present, employees and managers of GGRC and RML – finally getting us the data that the Board is trying so hard to block. Once we have those documents, we expect to uncover TONS of additional claims.

Sometime, you have to pay for out of pocket costs like filing fees, court reporters for depositions, etc…so it may take $1,000 to $2,000 for these – other times, even these costs are covered by the contingency fee. Sometimes, this even includes the forensic accounting costs – for having an independent accounting firm audit ALL the books and records under the assumption that there is malfeasance to uncover.

Why TWO Class-Action Suits?

Right now, we are looking at having two separate class-action suits:

One lawsuit just for 1:1 Unit owners since we have been most royally ripped off by the Board and Joe Thomas not abiding by the Master Deed Percentages. This one will include everyone who currently owns a 1-1 Unit at Deer Ridge – 30 total units representing 36% of all units at Deer Ridge. The other interesting part is that we intend on seeking out all the PAST owners of 1-1 units too – since they have been wrongly overcharged by the actions of the Board. This will have the effect of a larger class and more aggregate awards by the Court. We figure we have already been ripped off to the tune of over $10,000 – with that number continuing to go up every month. If all current 1-1 owners average the same level of rip-off, that adds up to over $300,000 plus damages, plus interest, plus attorney fees (which we should get just about for free – whether we win or not.) The amount of claims of all the past owners will depend on how many we find – though once we get the turnover order for all documents, we should be able to quickly identify a lot of these folks. Bottomline: all of our co-owners at Deer Ridge who have been GROSSLY overcharged deserve to get their money back – and then some. If you want to join in on the suit and the award, please email me at litigation@deerridgeowners.com
The other class-action we intend to file at the same time will be brought on behalf of ALL owners at Deer Ridge, both past and present, for all those overcharges, for all that interference on rights to documents, for all costs related to the Board starting and continuing to fund RML, etc. Much more on this subject – and all it will include on an upcoming, more comprehensive post on this subject in the next few days. If you want to join in on the suit and the award, please email me at litigation@deerridgeowners.com

“I’m Mad As Hell – And I’m Not Going To Take It Any More!”

So said soon-to-be-fired, news anchor Howard Beale in the 1976 movie, Network.

We are doing all we can to start interviewing class-action attorneys over the next two weeks so that we can expedite getting these lawsuits filed ASAP. I want to do all that I can to have these lawsuits in place prior to the next Board meeting in November – so that the Board members, while they are here for the meeting can have their individual depositions taken for these lawsuits.

Pretty efficient, huh?

I don’t know about you – but I am tired of getting the run around from Joe Thomas, Luther Parker and the Board – and I am going to do something about it – to solve the problems for us all – once and for all!

Class-Action Lawsuits

LOTS more on this in the next few days…meanwhile, you all might find the following of interest. This is an article on class-action suits I found that gives an excellent overview of the why and wherefore:

Class action lawsuits permit one or more plaintiffs to file and prosecute a lawsuit on behalf of a larger group. The class members have suffered the same wrong at the hands of the defendant or defendants but are too numerous for the court to adequately manage if each were required to be named plaintiffs.

Class action lawsuits do more than simply address the situation of too many plaintiffs to litigate a case manageably; the justifications that led to the development of the class action include the protection of the defendant from inconsistent obligations, the protection of the interests of absentees, the provision of a convenient and economical means for disposing of similar lawsuits and the facilitation of the spreading of litigation costs among numerous litigants with similar claims. Moreover, it saves the resources of both the courts and the parties by permitting an issue potentially affecting every class member to be litigated in an economical fashion.

To proceed as a class action, district courts must make the following findings: (1) The number of class members renders it impracticable to join them in the action, (2) the class members’ claims share common questions of law or fact, (3) the claims or defenses of the proposed class representatives are typical of those for the rest of the class, and (4) the proposed class representatives will adequately protect the interests of the entire class.

Furthermore, in addition to the numerosity, commonality, typicality and adequacy of representation requirements, the district court must make at least one of the following findings: (1) Requiring separate actions by or against the class members would create the risk of inconsistent rulings, or a ruling with respect to individual class members may be dispositive of other class member claims, thereby substantially impairing or impeding their ability to protect their interests; (2) the party against whom the class seeks relief has acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class so that injunctive or declaratory relief as to the entire class would be appropriate; or (3) common questions of law or fact common predominate over class-member–specific questions, and that proceeding by way of class action would be superior to other available methods for resolving the dispute.

Last Update: Oct. 2, 2008

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