These are my personal images and photos that show the beauty of the view from Deer Ridge Mountain Resort and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cobbly Nob and the Gatlinburg, Tennessee area.
Just click the Play button to watch - or click Big Picture to see a much larger slide show on a dedicated page here at DeerRidgeOwners.com.
Deer Ridge Litigation Fund
Do you, as an owner at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, believe we are ALL entitled to have access and be able to copy the books and records of our Homeowner's Association?
So, do I.
But, apparently, Employee Joe Thomas and President Luther Parker and the Board disagree - and are doing all they can to block access, publication and candid discussion of the Asinine Assessment, special deals and favored treatment - at the expense of all Owners.
What ARE they so afraid of us finding out?
Maybe it has to do with the HUGE $10,000 overcharge for my HOA Fees, special assessments, water and cable TV bill - which, in my personal opinion, is due to fraudulent intent or at least gross negligence by the Deer Ridge Board of Directors and / or General Manager Joe Thomas. Please see the posts for details.
We have no choice but to file a lawsuit against GGRC and RML in order to finally, once and for all, make it clear that OWNERS do have a right to all the information about our property and our investment at Deer Ridge.
If you have thoughts and ideas and suggestions, please post them here on this blog.
If you have any clout with the Board, convince them to stop the charade - and let the owners have the information that all owners own!
If you want to help cover the legal costs to get us the right to see the bids for $50,000 for nuts and bolts - and the other background documents for the $353,500 Asinine Assessment, please click on the Donate Button below.
With enough in donations, we can hire BOTH an attorney AND a forensic accountant for the whole process through the Court in Sevier County to make absolutely certain we win EVERY point - and never have to fight Employee Joe and the Board on this stuff again.
Even a $100 contribution will help show that you are in favor of an open and FULLY transparent homeowners' association at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort!
Thanks so much to those of you who have already contributed!
GENERAL DISCLAIMER FOR ALL PAGES AND POSTS AND EVERYTHING ELSE I DO OR SAY REGARDING DEER RIDGE AND ANY AND ALL RELATED PARTIES:
Note: The following, and the information on any and all other posts and pages by me about General Manager Joe Thomas, GGRC, RML and /or the Board of Directors and its members, or any related topics, are my personal opinions based on my ongoing investigation into the actions and inactions of the GGRC and RML Board of Directors and / or Joe Thomas, General Manager.
While I believe these allegations to be true based on my objective analysis, these opinions remain as only allegations until I, or others, prove things in court.
My goal is to offer all owners all the information and evidence that I have available so that everyone can reach their own conclusions.
Please note the obvious:
Everything I ever say or write in person, via emails, or on my blog, about Deer Ridge or any and all related entities and organizations or any and all affiliated personnel or owners, is strictly my own personal opinion of course - based, in part, from my owning a unit at Deer Ridge for over five years - and on my own personal history.
That history includes earning a Presidential MBA degree, being awarded a Bachelor of Science, With Honors, in Engineering Physics from UT, working for NASA as a rocket scientist at Marshall Space Flight Center, 30 years of CEO experience directly employing and managing many hundreds of people at multiple companies I personally started and operated (including one that I took public), 15 years experience buying and selling over $100 million of property and managing more than 45,000 rental units - AND being able to read and do four-function arithmetic.
Legalese - And Powered Wig - Off
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Welcome to All Deer Ridge Owners
Welcome to all owners of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort condos in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
My goal is to help all Deer Ridge owners to have a voice in the management and operation of your property.
Click on the TITLES of any of the following subjects to read the whole posting - and see the comments made by your co-owners. You can also type any term into the below search box, or any word or term in the search cloud.
Click the big image at the top of the page to return to the front page at any time.
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Investment Analysis For A Rental Condo At Deer Ridge
Will you really lose $40,000 cash if you buy a rental condo at Deer Ridge and use Ridge Management Ltd?
As an owner-occupied home, Deer Ridge is an incredible value with THE best view in the Smokies and great amenities.
However, several owners and would-be owners of Deer Ridge condos have asked me if these units are a good rental property investment or not. To help answer that question
objectively, I had to analyze the real moving parts of buying and owning here.
Get my complete, detailed investment analysis based on buying a rental condo unit at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
It shows what you MUST do to make money when you buy a rental unit at Deer Ridge.
Every Dollar You Pay For Deer Ridge Is The WRONG Amount!
Please read the various posts here on this Deer Ridge Owners Blog - and see my evidence and analysis which I believe shows conclusively that EVERY dollar of HOA Fees, EVERY dollar EVERY special assessment, EVERY water bill and cable TV sent out for YEARS to ALL Deer Ridge Owners has been wrong!
In many cases at least ONE THIRD of ALL owners have been GROSSLY overcharged. My calculations show that I have been overcharged more than TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS in the past 50 months I've owned at Deer Ridge.
The Board has been WRONGLY and arbitrarily ignoring the requirements of the Master Deed and the Bylaws for YEARS.
If my analysis is correct, the Board has zero choice. They MUST abide by the Master Deed Percentages.
But they haven’t.
However, if the Board knowingly ignored the clear directives of the Master Deed and the Bylaws when allocating costs to various unit types, and overcharging certain unit types on a regular basis, my opinion is that the Board and Joe Thomas may have acted fraudulently.
If they have not been fraudulent, then they have been, at the very least, grossly negligent.
Read the various blog postings - and judge for yourself.
Comments Welcome From All Visitors
You are welcome to leave your comments on the various posts on the blog. You no longer have to be registered to comment. (Even regular contributors had trouble remembering their log on passwords!)
Note that SPAM blockers are in place - and all comments require approval to be visible.
So, let's hear from you on these topics!
To view the comments, you need to click on the post topic to see the entire post and the comments.
"We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert." — J. Robert Oppenheimer. This includes the Board of Directors of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.
It’s a bad real estate market out there. I know – you heard it here first.
According to the latest analysis of home price trends in 384 markets based on the Fiserv/Case-Shiller Indexes, it will be well into the second quarter of 2013 before median home prices across the nation probably bottom out. Click Housing Recovery Slips Out of Sight to read the CNN report.
That’s two more years where the general real estate market will get worse – with prices probably falling ANOTHER 15% to 25%. If we go into a double dip recession, which is now appearing likely, additional price drops could end up being more severe.
As bad as that is, the situation for selling condos at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort in Gatlinburg, Tennessee is even worse.
Selling A Deer Ridge Condo – Reality Check
Besides it being the worst real estate market since the depression, Deer Ridge owners have several other MAJOR strikes against them that make our units virtually unsaleable to anyone:
Deer Ridge has THE highest monthly HOA fees, per square foot, of ANY condo in the entire Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge / Sevierville or Knoxville area. At $410 to nearly $500 a month, we simply are pricing our units out of the marketplace – especially when comparing the ratio of HOA fee to the price of the condos.
These outrageously high HOA fees will probably rise by $70 to $100 a month MORE when the “board” sets the budget for 2012. This could end up making our monthly HOA fees a staggering $500 – $600 a month on properties that sell for $35,000 to $90,000.
Buyers for Deer Ridge units have the inexcusable burden and liability of having to support and fund a motel business, RML, that is losing all owners over $150,000 a YEAR and is bankrupting our GGRC HOA.
For many folks who could afford a Deer Ridge condo with a normal mortgage, the HOA fees here knock them out of qualifying for financing and reduces, yet again, the small universe of potential buyers who might, just maybe, have an interest in owning a condo at Deer Ridge.
The Glut – At Least 43% Of Deer Ridge Owners Want To Sell
If all of that wasn’t bad enough, there is “The Glut.”
As of now, there are 23 known units at Deer Ridge that are already officially on the market for sale. 21 properties are shown on the MLS listing (click image to get a copy of the document) – PLUS another owner listed his unit last week – and another owner is trying to sell her unit as a For Sale By Owner.
On top of all of that, we know of at least another 13 owners who have indicated that they want to sell their Deer Ridge condo – but see it as currently pointless to even list it for sale. This is known as shadow inventory.
This means that out of the 84 total units at Deer Ridge:
27% of the units are officially on the market. This, by itself, is a HUGE red flag to most buyers when that high a percentage of units at one development are on the market at one time.
43% of the owners want to sell – when you count both those on the market plus the shadow inventory of those who really want to sell.
That’s nearly HALF of the owners of ALL condos at Deer Ridge want to sell!
And, you are directly competing with other owners to grab the attention of very few prospective buyers for Deer Ridge.
On top of that, all owners at Deer Ridge are having to compete with the mass of sellers dumping their properties all over Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge as a result of the economic and real estate downturn.
Folks, that 43% of all units at Deer Ridge represents a Glut – and creates even more red flags that are waving in the faces of any prospective buyer of a Deer Ridge unit.
My guess is that many of the shadow inventory units will desperately and aggressively come out of the shadows and be placed on the market if the board has their way and raises the HOA fee by $70 or more in the next three months so they can continue to cover the massive hemorrhage caused by RML’s huge negative cash flow.
If that happens, more and more owners will try slashing their asking price just to try and dump their units at Deer Ridge – with everyone trying to out slash all the other, competing sellers at Deer Ridge.
Another Disadvantage: Selling Through Joe Thomas and Ridge Resort Realty
So, how do you compete to get your unit sold when almost half of all owners are trying to sell basically the same unit?
For one thing, don’t list with Joe Thomas and Ridge Resort Realty.
Surely, by now you know that he is ONLY interested in selling any units to non-residents who will use their unit for a few weeks a year and list it with RML for rental income. In my opinion, he will NOT try to sell to anyone who does not fit this tourist / motel rental profile, folks! He will NOT try to sell to anyone who might use a different rental company.
This is especially true if you are currently using RML since he knows he gets management fees from you as long as you are stuck with your unit. If your unit sells, it is a financial risk to him since the new buyer might not sign that RML agreement that keeps a non-competitive 50% of rental collections.
This means, in my opinion, if you are listing your unit for sale with Joe Thomas, you have a much WORSE chance of finding a buyer than if you list your property with someone else. Other owners are using other brokers – so they have a competitive advantage over you if you are using Joe Thomas. The other brokers don’t care who buys your unit or if they plan on renting out your condo after they buy it.
Recommendation: Terminate your listing agreement with Ridge Resort Realty and list your unit with another broker. At least this one disadvantage would be solved – and you would gain an advantage over all the other owners at Deer Ridge who don’t understand this issue.
Another Disadvantage: Give RML A 60 Day Notice – And Save Yourself Up To $1,000 A Year Or More.
As you all know, RML raised its management fee to a whopping 50% of all dollars they get from renting your unit. The market is, at most, 40%. RML is continuing to charge non-owners 40% to manage their properties – but raping owners with their above market 50% fee. This represents a 25% increase in the dollars out of your pocket and into the pockets of Joe Thomas.
Clearly, Joey and the rest of the Gang don’t give a damn about owners or they wouldn’t have raised your fee from 40% to 50%.
It may seem “convenient” to just use RML to manage your condo rentals – but there are a LOT of other rental companies in Gatlinburg that want your business. These other rental companies would compete for your business with a better rate and better service than you are going to get from Joe Thomas and RML.
Don’t be passive for false “convenience.” That’s what Joe Thomas counts on: That you will be too passive, too lazy, too complacent to find a better management company where you get to keep $1,000 or more in your own pockets each year.
Give Joey the required 60 day boot – and get a better rental company!
(See below about how one company only charges 35% – and on a property that has half of our HOA fees for a much nicer and even smaller complex.
The Only Solution – If You Ever Want To Sell Your Deer Ridge Unit
The only solution to the gross disadvantage that Deer Ridge condos have in the market requires four steps:
Sell or shut down RML and get out of the motel business and stop the $152,000 a year hemorrhage that is bankrupting GGRC. (Be sure and give your 60 day notice to RML and have your unit already listed with another rental management company!)
Fire Joe Thomas – this small 84 unit complex can’t afford his $100,000 employment package.
Hire an independent HOA management company for $20,000 a year – including all bookkeeping. Click Bid to see an actual bid by one company to manage Deer Ridge for only $1,680 per month including all bookkeeping!
After the above three steps are done, cut all monthly HOA fees in HALF – and still have a positive cash flow for GGRC!
All of the above can be done over the next 60 days with the support of over half of the owners.
Another Reality Check: You ARE Stuck With Your Deer Ridge Unit
Even with the above steps, you are probably stuck owning your Deer Ridge unit for at least two more years.
But with the above Four Step Plan, your HOA fees are cut in HALF while you still own…your property value will go up and your property is immediately more marketable once the real estate market improves.
Doesn’t it make sense to immediately implement that Four Step Plan – and cut our HOA fees in half NOW?
Stay Tuned For The Four Step Proxy
We are having our attorneys draft a proxy in accordance with Article XI of the Bylaws requiring a special meeting and vote strictly to cover the Four Point Plan. With your help, we won’t have to wait for our lawsuit to shut down RML and stop the negative cash flow.
If you agree with this and want your HOA fees cut in half, and are willing to sign such a proxy, let me know and we will notify you as soon as the proxy is ready.
PS: Want To See A Sample Of How A Gatlinburg property should be run: The Highlands Condos of Gatlinburg, Tn.
The owners at The Highlands in Gatlinburg are not at risk for covering a property management company’s negative cash flow like we are with RML – even though they have an onsite management company.
Werner Enterprises, Inc. is located on premises and only charges a 35% management fee (versus 50% at Deer Ridge.) Werner Enterprises does extensive marketing and furnishes housekeeping, linens and supplies in each unit. But by having a totally independent property management company from the HOA, the HOA Board can focus on the owners’ interests and not to be involved in a “For Profit” business that has MANY interests that are contrary to the real interest of the owners.
Their HOA Fees:
1 bedroom $225.00 per month / paid quarterly
2 bedroom $282.00 per month / paid quarterly
3 bedroom $338.00 per month / paid quarterly
Their HOA Fees Include: Water, sewer, cable TV, building insurance, trash collection, common area electricity, pest control, pool and hot tub operations and even firewood (in season). Compare their 1 bedroom charge of only $225 to the outrageous HOA fees here at Deer Ridge where we pay $410 a month for the same things – but we don’t get the firewood included.
That means we are paying 82% higher monthly fees than they pay for their 1 bedroom units. And that’s before the “board” tries to raise our HOA fees AGAIN in November by another $70 a month. That would make our fees 113% higher than the Highland’s fees.
Hmmmm….isn’t that interesting – since our Master Deed shows that Luther Parker and the rest of the “board” are currently overcharging all 30 owners of 1 bedroom units at Deer Ridge (36% of ALL units) by this same 82%!!!!
The Highlands have only 54 units to share in common expenses…which should make each unit’s HOA fees higher…but it doesn’t since they don’t have to support Joe Thomas‘ $100,000 plus compensation package and the massive negative cash flow of a money losing motel operation like RML.
This is what we at Deer Ridge compete with – even though these condos sell for $140k – $325k. and the views rival ours here at Deer Ridge. See the details by clicking The Highlands.
Folks, this should show you that it is PAST time for a MAJOR change at Deer Ridge. Vote to implement the Four Step Plan!
Apparently, GGRC and RML are so desperate for cash that Joe Thomas and the rest of the Gang of Six are attempting to double bill Deer Ridge owners.
Case in point: They claimed that owner Todd Novak had not paid a past water bill from a few years ago. After Todd went to all the trouble to dig up the proof that he had, in fact, paid that bill, Joe Thomas and the office staff then claimed Todd had not paid another bill.
This time, Todd took GGRC / RML to court with a Small Claims action filed on May 11, 2011.
In spite of the testimony by Joe Thomas in front of the judge, the Court apparently did not find Joey’s testimony convincing in light of Todd’s proof and documentation. As a consequence, the Judge ruled on May 23rd in Todd’s favor, granting him the following judgement against GGRC / RML:
This Is NOT The Only Case
The obviously false claims by Joe Thomas that Todd owed payments on old bills appears to be spreading to other owners too. For example, this is the demand letter another owner has received:
As shown above, this owner also has the canceled checks showing she did not owe the claimed $540.
Have YOU Been Overcharged Too?
Individually, this may not look like much of an issue. But together, they indicate a trend of trying to dig up long past billings and claiming that multiple Deer Ridge owners have not made some long ago payment. Todd’s win in Court shows that, at least in his case, the claims of Joe Thomas were false.
Is it that Joey and the Gang are hoping to go back far enough in time that owners haven’t saved their canceled checks as proof?
Is this an ongoing, desperate attempt by Joey to get cash from wherever he can even if he falsely makes claims like he apparently did in Todd’s case?
How many OTHER owners are getting hit with this same kind of letter, this same kind of false claims over long forgotten paid bills?
Conversely, is it that Joe Thomas is so incompetent that his operation can completely miss payments that were due – thereby making ALL of his accounting and ALL of his reports equally suspect of major errors?
Either way, in my mind, this shows, once again, that Joe Thomas is grossly incompetent at his job – or is it possibly an indication of ongoing fraudulent claims like the ones concerning Todd? Clearly, the Judge did not believe Joe Thomas and his testimony in Court.
Maybe, you and other owners should not believe Joe Thomas either.
Fire Joe Thomas Now
Either way, in my mind, Joe Thomas should be fired, for cause, immediately.
It makes me wonder, in my mind, why the “board” continues to employ Joey and even give him a recent 10% raise in light of the multitude of evidence of his gross incompetence and gross mismanagement of GGRC and RML.
Probably in response to the below posting and the growing outcry from other owners, Joey and the “board” just uploaded an insurance “quote proposal” from 10/07/10 onto the GGRC Blog.
We have no idea if this “quote proposal” is, in fact, the policy that is currently in place, or if the payments are current, or if the annual premium shown on it as $45,480 that was due last November is correct. My guess is that the final real policy was for more money than is shown on this “quote proposal.” However, if this proposal turned out to be the real policy, GGRC according to the Master Deed, is required to have the full $45,480 in a separate insurance escrow account by September 1, 2011.
This means that there should be $36,384 in the escrow account as of June 1, 2011. (I am taking bets that they don’t even have an escrow account – let alone having a segmented $36,384, thereby putting ALL owners at financial risk.)
The GGRC blog posting only has the document posted without any narrative discussion – so there is no word in the posting by Joey and the Gang as to the escrow account or its required funding.
Funny, you would think if they were doing things right, they would have gloated that I was wrong about the escrow account and the required funding. Go figure. However, in light of the new posting about Bouncing Payroll Checks, the below information is even more critical to all owners at Deer Ridge!
END OF UPDATE
An Additional MAJOR Risk To All Deer Ridge Owners
As previously mentioned in a prior post, we believe that there is very strong evidence that Joe Thomas and the “board” have, once again, put ALL Deer Ridge Owners at economic risk – this time with our property insurance.
Our annual insurance premium is approximately $45,000 to $60,000.
To protect all owners, the Master Deed (see below) requires that all premiums are escrowed in a separate escrow account to ensure that the funds are available when the annual premium becomes due…and that the full amount of the premium is required to be totally escrowed at least 60 days prior to the due date of the annual insurance premium.
New, Upcoming Motion With Court
By our calculations, the amount that needs to be immediately escrowed probably ranges from $30,000 to $42,000.
As a consequence, we plan on filing a new motion with the Court to force Joe Thomas and the “board” to immediately transfer these funds from the current GGRC operating account into a separate court administered escrow account for the protection of all owners.
What will be very interesting to see: If the board even has sufficient amounts in our operating account to meet this required obligation of our Master Deed.
If these amounts are not escrowed, it is my opinion that this, by itself, is sufficient reason to fire Joe Thomas and the entire board for “cause” for gross negligence and gross incompetence.
However, if these amounts are not available in our operating account at this moment in time, it is my opinion that this, by itself, is sufficient reason to fire Joe Thomas and the entire board for “cause” for MASSIVE gross negligence and MASSIVE gross incompetence.
PRIOR POSTING
Below is the information we had previously posted that gives the proof of the requirement and the list of documents we are immediately demanding from Joe Thomas.
Insurance Escrow Account – Another Violation By The “Board”?
I am highly concerned about the economic viability of GGRC in light of RML’s huge $152,000 negative annual cash flow. Even Larry Ohm’s admitted loss of $55,000 for RML for all of 2010 would cause this same concern. With that concern in mind, I am highly concerned that Joe Thomas and the Board of Directors have been negligent with regard to Article X of the Master Deed.
Article X, entitled “Insurance”, provides in Section 3 that all owners are to pay a separate check for their pro rata share of the Common Expense for insurance so that it can be deposited into a separate trust account.
I am highly concerned that there has never been any requirement of any kind by Joe Thomas and the board for any owner to abide by this requirement since my purchase in 2005.
I am further concerned that all owners at Deer Ridge are not being afforded the economic protection provided by Article X Section 3 of the Master Deed. I believe there may not be any separate escrow account established and properly funded in accordance with Section 3 of Article X.
Since the annual insurance premium is substantive at approximately $60,000, my calculations show that approximately $6,000 should be escrowed each month so the amount of the account balance should be sufficient to pay the annual $60,000 sixty days prior to the due date as required by the Master Deed.
Proof Of Protection For ALL Owners Against A Lapse In Insurance Coverage
It is critical for ALL owners that we have sufficient funds to pay our property insurance annual payment when it is due – and not risk ANY potential lapse in coverage that could very detrimentally affect us all.
By way of verifying that Joe Thomas and the board have properly abided by the Master Deed on these issues, I, will be IMMEDIATELY requesting the following be provided to me, in accordance with the Tennessee Horizontal Property Act:
A copy of the current, and most recent three years, annual insurance policy cover page, showing due date of insurance premium, coverage and coverage dates.
A copy of the current and past 24 months of bank statements for the separate escrow account that is required to be maintained for the insurance payment.
Since I am also concerned that Joe Thomas and the board have fulfilled their commitment and promise to maintain a separate escrow account for the “special assessment”, I also request a copy of the current and past 15 months of bank statements for the separate escrow account that is required for the “special assessment.”
By my count, this should only require copying fewer than a hundred pages.
Assuming that Joe Thomas and the board have, in fact, properly abided by The Master Deed and Bylaws, I would assume there would be no problem in immediately providing these relevant and reasonable requests for information on my investment at Deer Ridge.
As a matter of fact, I would recommend that YOU, as an owner at Deer Ridge, immediately request these documents yourself since you also have a right to see them. If you get them, please send me a copy.
What’s Your Experience With These Documents?
As to whether these documents and accounts exist, let me ask all owners:
Have YOU ever written a separate check to the Insurance escrow account as required by our Master Deed?
If your answer is NO, then I think we probably already know the answers as to whether Joe Thomas and the board have been violating yet MORE parts of the governing documents for Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.
Even More Evidence of Gross Mismanagement and Gross Negligence By Joe Thomas And The Board?
It will be interesting to see if these documents and accounts exist – or, more expectantly, are yet again even more violations of our Master Deed and Bylaws by Joe Thomas and the board. If these documents and accounts don’t exist in their proper format, it is my opinion that this, by itself, is sufficient reason to fire Joe Thomas and the entire board for “cause” for gross negligence and gross incompetence.
In my opinion, Larry Ohm, CPA, Treasurer and “board” member of GGRC, aka Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, has been lying to owners for years. Click the YouTube icon to watch in high def and full screen so you can see the numbers.
He attests that the books that he and Joe Thomas cook up are a fair reflection of the operations of both GGRC and RML. In my opinion, these are fabricated lies to mislead the owners at Deer Ridge.
This video shows you why I believe that to be the case.
Prove me wrong if you don’t believe me. But don’t be fooled by the lies and the small checks you get from RML — you are losing a LOT more money than you are netting from using RML. Help stop the bleed from RML — Now!
We have filed a $3 million lawsuit against Deer Ridge Mountain Resort Gatlinburg, Tennessee, its General Manager and all individual board members. Several of these issues may be decided very soon in response to our Motion for Summary Judgment.
This video gives the background on one of these issues: The illegitimacy of RML, a wholly owned subsidiary of our HOA costing us $152,000 / year and has squandered nearly AT LEAST $1.3 MILLION over the past 16 years.
Our $3 Million HOA Lawsuit is against the HOA, Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, AKA Gatlinburg Golf and Racquet Club (GGRC) HOA. It is also against General Manager and “board members” Joe Thomas, Luther Parker, Larry Ohm, Margie Duncan, David Barone and Tom Reise, all as individuals.
Force HOA Board and General Manager to abide by both Tennessee State Law and Deer Ridge governing documents.
Do away with RML and Ridge Resort Realty as illegitimate ultra vires entities – and stop the $152,000 a year loss to our HOA, GGRC, each year caused by RML.
Force the HOA, GGRC, to abide by the Master Deed Percentages and stop financial discrimination against 36% of all owners.
Force the HOA to stop overcharging the 30 one bedroom owners by a whopping 82% each month.
Force the HOA to stop overcharging the 30 one bedroom owners for assessments, water, and other services.
Stop 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.This is a specific requirement of our Master Deed but has ALWAYS been ignored by the Board. Over $200,000 illegitimately spent in last 5 years.
Force the HOA, GGRC, to abide by Tennessee State Law and finally provide the REAL books and records in the format required by the Horizontal Property Act of Tennessee.The Board has continuously fought providing these books and records to owners for more than FIVE YEARS. (Makes you wonder why, huh?)
We will have separate presentations on all four issues for Summary Judgment — so stay tuned for those videos at our blog and our YouTube Channel!
As you know from one of my recent postings, we finally have a hearing date set for my litigation against Joe Thomas, Luther Parker, Larry Ohm, Margie Duncan, David Barone and Tom Reise. Copies of all four motions that will be heard on April 26, 2011 are shown below. Click on each photo to download the entire Acrobat file for each document that has been filed with the Court.
We are covering several issues during this hearing that will be pivotal for this case that could cause a major, consequential and immediate impact to the way that Deer Ridge Mountain Resort is operated. We are asking that the judge issue an immediate ruling on his interpretation of the Deer Ridge Master Deed and Bylaws which we believe have been grossly and purposely misinterpreted by Joe Thomas and the rest of the Gang of Six.
The changes resulting from a favorable ruling could include:
The Judge’s ruling could determine, once and for all, how everyone’s monthly assessment is calculated, including HOA fees, water and cable TV bills. If we win this one point, all 30 of the 1-1 units should no longer be overcharged 82% every month on their HOA fee!
The Judge’s ruling could determine, once and for all, how much, if any, will be owed by each owner on the current “special assessment” and the right amounts that should have been charged on all prior “special assessments.”
The Judge’s ruling could determine, once and for all, whether the current charge to all owners for this year’s portion of the “special assessment” will be blocked by our motion for temporary and permenant injunction.
The Judge’s ruling could determine, once and for all, whether RML and RRR (Ridge Resort Realty) are legitmate or not…and whether they were created as ultra viresacts by “board” members, making them possibly personal liable to repay all costs associated with RML and RRR for the past several years. (My calculations show that RML alone has cost owners at least $118,000 a year…so multiply this by The Six years we’ve owned and that equates to over $700,000 that might be owed back to GGRC by the individual “board” members.)
The Judge’s ruling could determine, once and for all, that all improvements and alterations require both a positive vote by 75% of all owners AND 90% of all mortgagees. If the judge rules in our favor on this, that means that about $82,000, or 23% of the entire $353,500 Asinine Assessment were illegally spent by the “board” since they adamently refused to follow the Master Deed and Bylaws on this point, even knowing it was required. If this ruling goes in our favor, the “board” can be judged, again, to have been acting ultra vires…which means that each of the “board” members could be held jointly and severally liable for the full amount of the illegitimate expenditures.
This same ruling should make the “board” members also personally liable for all those past improvements and alterations that were done where they ignored my demands for the past 6 years to solicit the required 75% vote of all owners. These include:
Joe’s Folly – The $80,000 picnic pavillion that should have never been built.
New pool decking – $30,000
Reception area and office improvements – $25,000
Maintenance building improvements and addtions – $15,000
Chairs for weddings, etc. - $3,200
Playground equipment – $3,000
New computers and office equipment – $5,000
Vehicles, golf carts, etc. ???
Game room equipment ???
Commercial laundry room equipment for RML ???
All of these monies were spent by the board without proper authority and approval by the owners at Deer Ridge.
Some of these amounts are guesses and I am sure this list of improvements and additions is not comprehensive. But once we are finally allowed to see the real books and records as provided by Tennessee state law, we expect that we will be able to add lots more to this list and correct the numbers here.
Even without the addtions, the above list adds up to more than $161,200 that would be ultra viresviolations by the “board.”
All totalled, this could make the “board” members individually responsible to personally pay back over $940,000.
If we divide this amount by the 5 board members, that would equal $188,000 that each would be responsible to pay. However, it is my understanding that all board members are “jointly and severally” liable for this amount…which means that each board member is fully responsible for the whole amount if and when one board member or another doesn’t pay. If this happens, I can easily envision lawsuits being filed by one “board” member against another demanding that they pay their fair share of any court ordered reimbursements back to GGRC. If lawsuits between “board” members were to happen, all kinds of “smoking guns” disclosures might be uncovered.
The Other Key Motion
We also filed a Motion to Compel so that this Despicable Gang of Six is forced by the Court to finally turn over the Deer Ridge books and records.
It’s been nine months since we filed our motion for production of documents with the Court — but so far Joe Thomas and the “board” have not complied.
We have been waiting fornine months for Joe Thomas to turn over the books and records on GGRC that all owners have a right to see.
Joe Thomas keeps adamantly stating that he has properly maintained the Administrator’s Book as required by Tennessee state law. Joey keeps saying they have this information, in the right format — but they don’t seem to be able to produce it.
I wonder why?
Now, Joey and the Gang are trying to mark all of Deer Ridge’s books and records as “confidential‘ to keep us from sharing them with YOU – all past and present owners At Deer Ridge who also have a right to see and thoroughly study the books and records concerning OUR investment in our property at Deer Ridge.
They claim these books and records and the emails between the six Gang members “… may cause injury, prejudice or [particularly] embarrassment” to Joe Thomas, Luther Parker, Larry Ohm, Margie Duncan, David Baron and Tom Reise.
As our Motion states, these “embarrassing” consequences fall in the category of “sometimes the truth hurts.”
Additionally, our motion to block their “protective” order stipulates we completely agree that obvious information such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers and the like will be treated as confidential….but NOT all the rest of the information that we will find in these documents.
We fully expect to find all kinds of “embarrassing” actions and statements, done and made, by this Gang of Six.
We fully expect to also find all kinds of other questionable activities that have been committed by these individuals.
And, we, and several other Deer Ridge owners, plan on looking VERY carefully and diligently for any and all signs of any potential civil and/or criminal malfeasance that might have, just maybe, been committed by any, or all, members of the Gang. As of now, we’ve not seen any documentation that proves malfeasance — but then again, we have yet to get the full books and records we’ve been requesting for over five years. Right now, we only have our overwhelming intuition that screams about ongoing malfeasance.
Maybe we won’t find any such malfeasance — but if we do, any and all guilty parties will suffer a whole lot more than simple “embarrassment.”
Maybe that’s why the Gang members are continuing their desperate FIVE YEAR long attempts to keep this information secret. They seem terrified their secrets are going to finally see the light of day.
We believe that’s one of the reasons that Joe Thomas and the Gang have fought so hard, for so many years, to keep this information out of the hands of the owners who deserve full visibility, full disclosure and full accountability from those who have been handling over $1 million a year on this property for a decade.
What IS it that terrifies them so much about what we will find in those books and records?
We ARE going to get to the bottom of this.
We ARE going to get access to all the books and records that Joey and the board have tried for years to keep secret.
And, we intend to do everything we can to block their motion for “protective” order — so that we can share ALL of this information with EVERY owner At Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.
Note – Temporary Injunction To Block Special Assessment Payment – Should You Pay?
Notice that Section 4 of the Motion For Summary Judgment includes wording that we “seek a temporary and permanent injunction prohibiting and restraining the Board from attempting to make any alterations or additions to the Common Elements except in compliance with the seventy-five (75%) percent and ninety (90%) percent requirements of Article XII subsection 2 set out above, including the $340,000 “Special Assessment .. currently being billed to Association members.” (The $340,000 is a typo that is being corrected to reflect the full $353,500.)
Bottom line: We believe this wording blocks any and all collection by GGRC for the “special assessment” if the judge agrees with our motion. You should be your own judge of this document and its intent and decide for yourself if you are required, in light of this pending court action, to make the currently due special assessment payment. We believe it is germaine that 23% of this special assessment is for walkway railings and lighting improvements that did not have the required 75% / 90% vote. Also, germaine is that the calculated amount for every unit does not abide by the Master Deed Percentages – which means that the amounts of all payments due from all owners would be significantly different.
This seems like two very good reasons to me that the Judge should award both a temporary and permanent injunction against this Asinine Assessment.
Lots More Info
Please check out the following links for more information on these issues – and what we hope to gain from our $3 million lawsuit against Joe Thomas, Luther Parker, Larry Ohm, Margie Duncan, David Barone and Tom Reise.
Motion For Summary Judgement & Temporary Injunction - Click For Document
Motion To Compel - Click For Document
Motion To Dismiss and Judgment on Pleadings - Click For Document
Motion For Protective Order - Click For Document
Stay Tuned!
We live in interesting times!
Tick…tick…tick.
PS: I am not an attorney and these opinions are my own. Please be sure and refer to the full disclaimer language in the side bars and the Terms of this website.
PPS: Be sure and watch this blog for upcoming news about our new domain name: HOABoardAbuse.com and our two new video channels on YouTube.com: DeerRidgeOwners.com and HOABoardAbuse.com. In-depth videos are being produced to fully explain, to all Owners and the World, exactly what is happening both at Deer Ridge and at other abusive HOA Board run properties across the Nation. These videos will be posted on both DeerRidgeOwners.com and YouTube.com.
Stay tuned – you never know what videos might go viral!
If you have not paid the Asinine Assessment for Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, you probably have already been sued by Joe Thomas and the rest of the Gang of Six.
In addition to their specious $1 million lawsuit against me, I have also been served with a Sessions Court suit for the non-payment of the assessment which I believe is completely illegitimate for at least four reasons.
If you live out of state, you may have already been sued by not yet been served by the constable or process server. Once you are served you will have a yellow piece of paper like the one to the right which is a copy of their suit against me.
Your Five Options
If you have been sued, you have five choices, or paths, available to you in my personal opinion:
Pay them the money.
Declare bankruptcy.
Ignore the lawsuit and allow them to get a default judgment against you which would then allow them to foreclose on your condo.
Hire your own attorney and fight them in court using one of the four reasons, or some other defense.
Join with us in our current $3 million lawsuit against GGRC, Joe Thomas and the rest of the Gang of Six and fight them.
I certainly do not recommend any of the first three choices. Your decision on which of the above paths is right for you is obviously up to you – but I would rather pay a lot more in legal fees to fight this unjust and illegitimate assessment than let these jokers continue to violate state and Deer Ridge regime law.
Joe Thomas and the rest of the Gang of Six have been doing as they please, without regard to our Master Deed and Bylaws, for way too long – and it is time to finally stop them and force them to pay out of their own pockets for the multitude of ultra vires acts they have perpetrated against Deer Ridge Owners for so many years.
My Defense Against Their General Sessions Court Suit
My attorney is already taking steps to block this Sessions Court suit on two issues, as I understand them:
Our $3 million lawsuit was filed a week before their Sessions Court suit which gives our suit priority.
This case is too complex for a simple Sessions Court non-payment suit. We already believe we have four reasons to invalidate the suit. Some of these will require declaratory judgments regarding valid interpretations of various parts of our Master Deed and Bylaws. These declaratory judgments will be an integral part of the jury’s decisions regarding our case and hence are beyond the scope of the Sessions Court.
The above is my best guess at this point since the attorneys are still discussing an agreed order regarding this matter – but at this point, I fully expect that we will quickly win these points.
Your Best Choice – Join As A Co-Plaintiff In Our Suit
If you join as a co-plaintiff in our existing lawsuit, you benefit from lower legal costs and by participating in a lawsuit that probably pre-dates their Sessions Court lawsuit against you. As a co-plaintiff, you can also share in any major awards and reimbursements of legal fees we may gain from our $3 million lawsuit against them.
I am not an attorney – but if you are interested, please contact me ASAP and I will put you in contact with my attorney so that you can make a fully informed decision.
You can now download one document that is a complete scan of one Deer Ridge owner’s notebooks of all his documents related to GGRC and RML from 1987 through 2009.
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.
To get your own copy of this document, just click History.
This Information Is Yours – And Can’t Be Blocked By Joe Thomas And the “Board”
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 825 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.
These 825 pages took us over 16 people-hours to pull pages from the notebook, remove staples and flags, scan in and convert the pages to searchable text, replace flags, return pages in the same order to the notebooks and to post the prepared Acrobat file on the Deer Ridge Owners blog at www.DeerRidgeOwners.com as a “Document You Can Download.”
That is a LOT of time and effort – but something we wanted to do for all Deer Ridge Owners.
Keyword and Key Phrase Searchable!
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!
Joey and the “board” are running scared – scared that the owners will all find out just how few of them are paying their illegitimate Asinine Assessment.
Joey and the “board”are trying all they can to block both Neil and I from having access to the GGRC books and records that the laws of the State of Tennessee guarantee us that we can see. They know that once we see the books and know how few have paid the assessment and we report that information here on the blog, they will have a major problem trying to force other owners to pay.
The usual abuse of power by the “board” typically has to do with multiple, major violations of Deer Ridge Law – those contained in our controlling documents – The Master Deed and The Bylaws.
This Time Joe Thomas and Luther Parker Are Breaking The Law – Tennessee State Law – By Blocking Owner Access To Deer Ridge Records
This time they are directly breaking Tennessee state law by blocking our access to these records. I just emailed Joey, Luther Parker, Charles Sexton (attorney for GGRC and who knows who else involved with Deer Ridge? – but that is a different potential conflict of interest that we will get to soon.)
What I emailed them, and other interested owners, was a SECOND NOTICE. See below.
Ignore The Notices And Threats of Late Fees From Joe Thomas?
It is up to you – but I advise you to do what I am doing – to ignore the late letters, threats of late fees, etc. regarding your non-payment of the Asinine Assessment.
As describe before, the recent independent legal opinion we just obtained indicates that this “Special Assessment” is completely illegitimate on at least FOUR major points.
Note that, in spite of multiple requests, Joey and the “board” have not been able to produce ANY independent legal opinion as a counterpoint to the one we have obtained. We believe this is HIGHLY indicative that Joey and the “board” have NO authority for either the “special assessment” or for their blustering demands for payment.
Don’t give in to their illegitimate bullying about an illegitimate assessment.
Instead, use some of that money to help pay the necessary legal fees to block the assessment and force Joe Thomas and the “board” to stop breaking both Tennessee State Law AND Deer Ridge Law. Once we get a court to issue a permanent injunction, you won’t have to pay the assessments, any interest, etc. on this illegitimate special assessment.
But we need your help.
Helping us pay for this litigation is a LOT less expensive than paying for $50,000 for “nuts and bolts” and a LOT less than paying your two year total assessed amount.
If we can get $500 or a $1,000 from more Deer Ridge owners, we can immediately stop their demands and harassment.
Please mail your check to me at A-202, 3710 Weber Rd., Gatlinburg, TN 37738 – please make the check payable to the “Deer Ridge Litigation Fund” OR click the link below to pay via credit card or echeck.
We Just Need $5,000 More To Stop The Assessment
We just need $5,000 more from other owners to add to what we have already collected from participating owners.
Once we received this additional $5,000, we intend to IMMEDIATELY file the lawsuit with ALL of our claims in this one lawsuit. Part of this lawsuit will immediately seek a temporary injunction stopping the Asinine Assessment and all threats from Joey and the “board.” The same lawsuit will also quickly pursue a summary judgment on at least 10 of the major points in the independent attorney’s letter – including making the injunction against the Asinine Assessment permanent!
Once this is out of the way, we will pursue the other part of this lawsuit – including our claims against Joe Thomas and this abusive and illegitimate “board” – making them individually responsible for their gross negligence and abusive, arbitrary and capricious decisions that were outside the scope of their authority.
The sooner we get your donations to the “Deer Ridge Litigation Fund” – the sooner we can cut off the harassment from Joey and the “board” over non-payment of the Asinine Assessment.
Donate Now
*** SECOND NOTICE ***
I have not received a response to the below email….this is your second notice.
Failure to provide this information to ANY owner in a timely manner is a violation of Tennessee State Law.
I demand to have access to ALL of the requested information during the week of March 15, 2010.
Robert Goodman
A-202
At 10:40 AM 3/11/2010, Robert wrote:
Luther Parker and Joe Thomas,
In accordance with the Tennessee Horizontal Act, 66-27-113, I hereby request an immediate review of the GGRC, RML and Ridge Resort Realty “Administrator’s Books” as defined by the Act: This is a single book that contains a detailed account in chronological order, of the receipts and expenditures affecting the building and its administration and specifying the maintenance and repair expenses of the common elements and any other expenses incurred. Continue reading Employee Joey and The Board – Trying Desperately To Hide How Few Are Paying The Asinine Assessment
I strongly recommend you do NOT make your March 1, 2010 OR your 2011 “special” assessment payments to Deer Ridge.
Based on an independent legal counsel review of our Master Deed and Bylaws, his legal opinion is that this “special” Deer Ridge assessment is invalid for at least FOUR reasons:
The GGRC Master Deed and Bylaws do NOT allow for ANY kind of “special” assessment of any kind. They only allow for monthly assessments that are set before December 1st of each year.
The amount of the assessment for every owner is WRONGLY calculated. The “board” has applied what the attorney calls “arbitrary and capricious” cost allocations for ALL charges currently being paid by ALL owners at Deer Ridge. This includes your monthly HOA fee, the amounts for water, cable TV, telephone AND the calculated amounts that are being charged for this “special” assessment. The attorney says that ALL of these items MUST be in accordance with the Master Deed Percentages. Hence, any amounts currently being charged to each and every owner for this “special” assessment is wrongly calculated and should not be made!
The “board” was required to provide COPIES of the detailed bid requests and bids to any and all owner to substantiate the Asinine Assessment’s outrageous $353,500 price tag – and NOT to just list, “Nuts and Bolts – $50,000!” Since they were unwilling to do so, this assessment is voided.
The attorney has stated that the “board” is NOT the board. The board is required to be elected at the annual meeting and the annual meeting is REQUIRED to be held in the first three months of the year – not in April. The attorney states that the board is not the board and is powerless to implement ANYTHING.
For at least these four reasons, do NOT make your assessment payment for GGRC. You can read the full legal opinion from outside counsel by by clicking Legal Opinion.
Declaratory Judgment And Injunction
Instead of each of you paying $3,400 to $5,500 for this illegitimate assessment, join with us in obtaining a court ordered injunction to legally STOP this illegitimate “special” assessment and get a declaratory judgment from the court that will force this “board” to finally abide by our Master Deed and Bylaws.
To get an injunction, we need to file a lawsuit asking the court to rule on the interpretations of the GGRC Master Deed and Bylaws. We need your help with the legal fees that will be required to stop this assessment – and also to have the injunction and declaratory judgment provide for the full and complete return of monies paid in by owners who have already paid.
We ask that each owner to join with us and contribute $1,000 to cover legal fees and court costs to finally get this stuff resolved. If you can only do half of that amount or even less, those contributions would also be helpful and appreciated. The more contributions by owners, the more that can be litigated and the more likely we will win the case. (Bear in mind, nothing in court is ever a 100% sure thing!)
Our goal will be to also have the lawsuit go after recovery of all of our legal costs so those monies can be repaid to the owners who are willing to stand up and fight this fight. You can pay securely online via credit card or echeck by clicking Donate or mail a check to me at the address shown below and making the check payable to “Deer Ridge Litigation Fund.”
This $1,000 is a LOT cheaper than paying the outrageous amounts ranging from $3,400 to $5,500 for this illegitimate “special” assessment. Any unused funds will be returned, pro rata, to those Deer Ridge owners who contributed.
We have received several indications that monies already paid by owners into this “special assessment” are being squandered for other purposes – and we want to help make sure that all owners get all of their money back BEFORE it is completely squandered on a multitude of “uses” that were not even listed on the notice from the “board.”
Judge For Yourself
I have my opinions about things. Luther Parker and the “board” have their opinions about things. Here, for the first time, we have a LEGAL opinion from an independent attorney about what is really happening with your investment at Deer Ridge. The “board” has not shown any comparable, independent legal opinion. I am not an attorney – and neither is any member of the “board.”
Questions / Want To Help Block The Assessment With An Injunction?
Please contact me ASAP at litigation@deerridgeowners.com if you would like to help stop this illegitimate assessment. Time really is of the essence on this!
With your help, we can stop what the attorney calls “the ongoing abuse of power” by the current “board” and return Deer Ridge to operating legitimately within the legal documents of our Regime.
It is past time to stop this “ongoing abuse of power.”
It is time to replace all of the current “board” with owners who will not abuse their power – and who will abide by the controlling documents of Deer Ridge.
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.
Joe Thomas and the board make a big deal out of the fact that we have audited financial statements for GGRC and RML – and that, because of this, owners don’t have any need for copies of the books and records.
They make out that this “comprehensive oversight by an outside accounting firm” should give all owners complete confidence that all the books and records of our homeowner’s association are being done correctly.
This is a fallacy — and many owners are being lulled into false complacency just because they are being told the books and records are “audited.”
Hickman and Company A.K.A. Hickman and Associates
These folks have been our auditors at least for the past 8 years since I know they did the audits for 2002.
Is this some large regional, certified public accounting firm that has the proper, internal controls and procedures to thoroughly audit an organization and uncover any misdeeds or malfeasance that may be present in our homeowner’s association?
As you can see from their website, “Hickman and Associates is a tax and bookkeeping firm located in historic downtown Sevierville, Tennessee. A family firm, we have proudly served the community with three generations of for over fifty years. Hickman and Associates currently has four employees (all family members.)”
While these folks may very well be good bookkeepers and accountants, it is not clear from their website that any of the four of them is currently a CPA. It also is not clear whether this firm has ever had any recent peer review by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The AICPA requires most CPA firms which claim to do audits have this periodic peer review to help ensure that audits are done correctly.
Again, I know of absolutely nothing negative whatsoever about this company, it owners or employees or its bookkeeping and accounting services. I will take on face value that they must have at least one certified public accountant who participates in the annual GGRC and RML audits they do for Deer Ridge.
Accounting Company Concerns
Even if Hickman are the best accountants and bookkeepers in the world, another major concern is that such a small firm may be overly dependent upon the business handed out by Joe Thomas. For such a small company, two audits and the bookkeeping services for Deer Ridge could make up a significant of their annual revenue.
During the Special Meeting that was held on February 6, 2010, Joe Thomas stated that we pay Hickman and Associates, et al the following each year:
$1,300 for the GGRC audit and $1,800 for the RML audit.
$5,400 for the GGRC bookkeeping and $21,000 for the RML bookkeeping.
Total annual payments to Hickman from GGRC and RML: $28,600
What percentage of Hickman’s four person accounting company’s annual revenues does the above $28,600 represent?
If, hypothetically speaking of course, Joe Thomas threaten to take “his” GGRC and RML accounting business elsewhere unless the books were “cooked”, would such a small firm feel compelled to bend the rules or “look the other way?”
Consider that much larger CPA firms have been influenced by similar circumstances. (Example: Bernie Madoff’s auditor, David Friehling, CPA of Friehling & Horowitz, a tiny CPA firm that operated from a 13-by-18-foot office. Or, consider the 89 year old, 28,000 employee firm, Arthur Andersen CPA, that went out of business as a result of their federal criminal conviction for manipulation of the books for a company called Enron.)
Again, Hickman is most probably a very reputable firm with great people — but the above should be major red flags to all Deer Ridge owners that just because financials are audited does NOT mean that they are right – or that owners are protected from fraud.
What Exactly Is Audited?
Even if the CPA firm is doing a reasonably competent job, there are major opportunities for potential malfeasance at Deer Ridge.
Could something like that be happening at Deer Ridge using the small accounting firm that depends so much on Deer Ridge business? Again, it may or may not be an issue here with Hickman and Associates — but how can we know for certain?
The first thing to know about most audits is that all transactions are NOT checked. Most audits would only include “spot checking” sporadic accounts – and in many cases the CPA firm is directed by the client company to only check specific accounts that they know are pristine.
Let’s look at Hickman’s own cover letter for the audits they do for Deer Ridge:
“These financial statements are the responsibility of the Corporation’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit.
“We conducted our audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements.”
We have just hired an established real estate-focused law firm in Knoxville to begin our legal pursuits against GGRC, Joe Thomas and the current Board of Directors of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.
We have already paid the necessary retainer – so watch this blog closely for upcoming developments.
Do YOU believe that ALL owners of Deer Ridge deserve the following from their General Manager and Board of Directors:
Transparency?
Full accountability?
Open and responsive communications?
Right to audio recordings of all board meetings?
Genuine access to copies of all books and records (except credit card info)?
Copies of documents that prove that $353,500 is needed for the upcoming assessment (including $50,000 for “nuts and bolts”)?
Genuine and through auditing?
No special favors and illegal compensation for board members?
Fair assessments and HOA fees?
Adherence to all aspects of the controlling documents under which ALL owners purchased their units – The Master Deed and Bylaws?
Fair treatment for all owner types: RML owners, non-RML owners and residents?
If these are reflective of your belief system, then I invite you to help us achieve these goals.
The consistent and predictable actions of Joe Thomas and the current Board make it clear that they are opposed to every one of the concepts described in the above bullet points. As a consequence, we have no choice but to pursue the above goals with legal action.
If you would like to help us achieve these goals, your contribution to our legal fund would help accelerate our success.
With enough in donations, we can hire BOTH an attorney AND a forensic accountant for the whole process through the Court in Sevier County to make absolutely certain we win EVERY point – and never have to fight Employee Joe and the Board on this stuff again.
Even a $100 contribution will help show that you are in favor of an open and FULLY transparent homeowners’ association at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort!
Thanks so much to those of you who have already contributed! Just click the button below to donate to the cause.
Check out our new Deer Ridge Owners webcam for the current view from our balcony!
Just click the photo for the most recent update. Updated every 5 minutes.
Top 10 Cam Award!
Our new Cobbly Nob TN site was just chosen as an Earthcam Top 10 Webcam!
All of this in just our first two weeks of operation - and before we install our new wide angle, high definition lens! Stay tuned for even better images!
EarthCam, Inc. is the global leader in providing webcam content, technology and services and ranks among the top 1% of all websites. EarthCam.com is the world’s favorite webcam network and the EarthCam Network cameras have been seen on top news shows, including CNN’s Headline News.
New YouTube Channel For Deer Ridge Owners!
Check out ALL of our videos on our new YouTube Channel for Deer Ridge Owners:
We already have videos that will walk you around the whole property and give you reviews from past guests and tourists. Find out what they REALLY have to say about Deer Ridge!
We are adding even more videos in the next few weeks - so check out our Deer Ridge Owners Channel often!
Update: Just added two new videos for a total of 20 videos so far! Check them out!
Owner Files $3 Million Lawsuit Against HOA, General Manager And Board Members
A homeowner in Gatlinburg, Tennessee has filed a $3 Million Lawsuit against his HOA, General Manager And All Individual Board Members at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.
In response to their meritless, retaliatory $1 Million defamation lawsuit against me, I have now filed a $3 Million lawsuit against Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, AKA Gatlinburg Golf and Racquet Club HOA and Joe Thomas, Luther Parker, Larry Ohm, Margie Duncan, David Barone and Tom Reise, all as individuals.
If you believe in free speech as much as we do, we need your help - no matter where in America you may live.
The Deer Ridge HOA board and individual board members have filed a $1 Million Lawsuit against me in their ongoing attempts to stop this blog and have its contents removed. Click Press Release for details.
This power clique wants to continue to block free speech on this property and to keep their illegitimate secrets hidden from other owners.
They are willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars of other owners' money on legal fees to keep themselves in power while they continue to break both Tennessee state law and Deer Ridge property law.
We need your help with the legal fees that will be required to force them to abide by the law - and insure that Deer Ridge Mountain Resort is entitled to free speech like the rest of America.
If you would like to join with others who believe in free speech and believe that all of the 305,000 Home Owner Associations across the nation should be protected from tyrannical boards that ignore the laws, please click the
Donate Button below.
Even a donation of just a few dollars would be very greatly appreciated as a way of showing that we have financial support from thousands of Americans for these important issues!
Thanks so much to all of those of you who have already contributed!
Please help us broadcast this Press Release to others you know who can spread the word. You are welcome to link to this site from Twitter, Facebook or other sites.
With your help we can fight and win this $1 Million lawsuit - and keep this blog active - and an inspiration and model for other HOA Abuse Blogs across the nation.
Owner Comments