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I am in a dispute with a timeshare company in Florida over a unit I own in New Orleans. I live in Texas. As I understand it, If I sue them, I would have to file the suit in Florida. If they sue me, they would have to file their suit in Texas.
Is this correct?
No, it's not correct.
I'm assuming you are not talking about small claims court, because the jurisdiction of those cases is more limited.
Assuming the Texas or Louisiana "long arm statutes" would give the Texas or Louisiana courts (respectively) jurisdiction over the persons of the defendants, you could file in Texas, Louisiana, or Florida. However if your suit has to do with title to the Louisiana real estate, you might be limited to suing in Louisiana.
Similarly, the timeshare company could potentially sue you in one of the three states.
What's the controversy about?
AK Lawyer,Quote:
Originally Posted by txtxcal
Forgive my ignorance but I am having a devil of a time figuring out how this web site works. It took me over half an hour to find your complete post on Saturday and I could not find it today. Anyway, here is my complete answer to your post:
Since you asked, I’ll tell you my whole story. In 1989 I purchased a timeshare condo at Club La Pension in New Orleans. In 2008 the developer sold his interest in the property to Bluegreen Resorts, headquartered in Florida. In January, 2011 Bluegreen informed the timeshare owners that it needed to perform emergency repairs to the building. Therefore they would need to close the resort for 9 months. Each owner was assessed $1600 for the repairs and the annual maintenance fee was raised to $525.
Many of the timeshare owners were upset about this and asked Bluegreen to provide documentation concerning the repairs. The documentation was not provided and many of the owners, including myself, refused to pay the assessment. Their was general upset over the fact that none of these owners was ever notified about Board of Directors meetings and the BOD votes to move ahead with the repairs.
I have contended that Bluegreen had planned this “emergency” repair, probably before they even completed the purchase of Club La Pension.
I believe that their actions represent a Breach of Fiduciary Duty toward myself.
I am not a lawyer. I can’t afford a lawyer. I’m just a 70 year old retired person living off Social Security. The callous manner in which other owners and I have been treated has inspired my passion to right this wrong. For the past year, I have been studying civil procedure and timeshare laws.
I have been pursuing a possible Breach of Fiduciary lawsuit against Bluegreen. Either that or a counter suit if and when they sue me in order to get back ownership of my unit.
What I believe I need is a legal coach who can help me through the process. I would be willing to pay your standard rate for your time and your advice. But I would like to use your time only in short blocks that I could afford.
I would appreciate your thoughts on this matter even if they are to tell me I have no case and I should give up the idea of representing myself in court.
Sorry, but the rules of this particular forum don't allow for that sort of thing. Nor is the sharing of contact information allowed.Quote:
Originally Posted by txtxcal
In light of your explanation of the situation, it appears that my previous advice was accurate. Either you or Bluegreen could file in any one of the three states involved. I would, however, double-check the "long-arm statute" for the state where the case is filed to be sure. Bluegreen may, however, be required to register to do business in Texas in order to sue you there.
You should also be aware that Federal court in any one of the three states might be available under "diversity of citizenship" jurisdiction. The requisites for that are "complete diversity" (all plaintiffs being citizens or companies organized in one state, and all defendants being citizens, etc. of another state), and the amount in controversy must be at least $75,000.
Have you thought about teaming up with the other owners, and filing together, in order to share expenses of litigation?
I want to make one correction to my last post. I have looked at the three Long Arm statutes (this link is a handy reference). I don't think that Bluegreen could sue you in Florida.
I have been in contact with a group of 10-15 people who are in the same boat. Many of them have written to the Louisiana Attorney General and other government sources and are still highly disgruntled. They are aware of my approach and are very supportive. I may bring that up with them when I decide to or am forced to file my suit or answer to their suit.Quote:
Originally Posted by txtxcal
You should get every together to file class action
The thing that scares me about filing class action is that I found a couple of case studies in Louisiana where the plaintiff could not proceed to trial because they did not have "standing to sue". This was because they filed against the homeowners association and the court ruled that since the HOA had the same damages as each individual homeowner, that they don't have standing to sue.Quote:
Originally Posted by txtxcal
Also I learned that in Louisiana I would have to pay a filing fee for each plaintill.Quote:
Originally Posted by txtxcal
Yes, but if you get a class, you can have enough money to hire an attorney who can do it right. If you win, you will win court costs as well.
Have you obtained a copy of the by laws of the resort? Have you gotten a copy of the minutes of all Board meetings?
I have a copy of the by-laws and financial reports for the past 4 years. I have been told that others in our group have tried repeatedly to get copies of the minutes, but Bluegreen has refused to release them.Quote:
Originally Posted by txtxcal
This is why you need an attorney. The by-laws should state that any share owner is entitled to received a copy of the minutes on demand. If they are refusing, first you make a formal request by certified mail. Then you go to court and have a subpoena issued and served. If they still refuse, the court fines them for contempt.
You can try going through small claims court on this, but I doubt if that will fly.
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