Manhattan Club Lawsuit

Welcome back, Irene!

Thank you.

Thank you, Dennis.

I just received a call from Lynn O’Donnell from TMC telling me if I still wanted to deed back my unit to them they are now in a position to take it back...no cost to us. I guess the deal struck with new mgmt company is to have inventory to sell. My unpaid maintenance fees forgiven and no reporting to credit bureaus. Paper work should arrive with 60days. If you want to deed back call Lynn at 212-453-8155.

Thank you Elaine. I have been on the list for a few years but haven’t heard from Lynn yet. This is encouraging and will keep me from sending any more good money after bad.

Elaine, have you been on the list for number of years or just contacted Lynn recently?

elainef88 wrote:

I just received a call from Lynn O’Donnell from TMC telling me if I still wanted to deed back my unit to them they are now in a position to take it back...no cost to us. I guess the deal struck with new mgmt company is to have inventory to sell. My unpaid maintenance fees forgiven and no reporting to credit bureaus. Paper work should arrive with 60days. If you want to deed back call Lynn at 212-453-8155.

Ive been on the list for a number of years. However I asked Lynn if a friend of mine can call her to get this give back and she said definitely. They were just given the go ahead to take back units.

I agree with Deborah. Those of us who go to TMC each year should not join the lawsuit. That would be bad faith. We know the fees are high but we pay and enjoy Manhattan. My opinion: If you paid your $1250 and can not PROVE that you have been wronged, you have wasted your money.

williamm465 wrote:

I agree with Deborah. Those of us who go to TMC each year should not join the lawsuit. That would be bad faith. We know the fees are high but we pay and enjoy Manhattan. My opinion: If you paid your $1250 and can not PROVE that you have been wronged, you have wasted your money.

There was supposed to be a special administrator appointed to adjudicate claims of owner who were denied reservations. Haven’t heard anything about this since publication of the settlement.

A hearing will be held at 11:00 am on 8/29/2018 at 60 Center Street, NYC, Room 345 (NY County Supreme Court), on Mr. Robert Tucker's "Order to Show Cause", seeking disclosure of the list of owners from TMC. Interested parties are invited to attend, and meet Mr. Jean-Marc Zimmerman, who will be arguing for Mr. Tucker.

Looks like we have another reason to file a lawsuit against TMC management. The maintenance fee revenue belongs to the association (the owners) to pay expenses . By forgiving this debt they are requiring the owners that are current on their fees to continue to pay higher fees to make up the short falls. The money from the unit resale will probably go into the pockets of the management company. Looks like a double hit to owners who are current on their fees.

I would like to get Mr. Zimmerman's opinion on this.

elainef88 wrote:

I just received a call from Lynn O’Donnell from TMC telling me if I still wanted to deed back my unit to them they are now in a position to take it back...no cost to us. I guess the deal struck with new mgmt company is to have inventory to sell. My unpaid maintenance fees forgiven and no reporting to credit bureaus. Paper work should arrive with 60days. If you want to deed back call Lynn at 212-453-8155.

Wondering is it legal to make such calls when the Temporary Restraining Order was Entered Against The Manhattan Club by the NY Supreme Court on August 13.

Hi William, if you are referring to me, I don't believe I said or intended to say that those of us who use the club shouldn't join the lawsuit...I stressed that people should decide what is best for them, only they know what that is. I am not joining because I don't have enough information on this lawyer, nor can I find much. I inherited my timeshares, which were deeded. My mother and sister were victims of the bait and switch scenario perpetrated on so many. I am stuck with one timeshare, paying those fees in perpetuity..my choice, for now, is to continue to enjoy the club until another avenue opens up.... waiting to get final paperwork on the one I gave back. I would consider joining a lawsuit under more favorable circumstances. And I sincerely wish those who have joined, the very best of luck.

williamm465 wrote:

I agree with Deborah. Those of us who go to TMC each year should not join the lawsuit. That would be bad faith. We know the fees are high but we pay and enjoy Manhattan. My opinion: If you paid your $1250 and can not PROVE that you have been wronged, you have wasted your money.

In CA we would take the delinquent owner to Small Claims if they owed less than 1800. If more they could foreclose. This money should go to the association. I am transfering my unit andyou should see the 32 pages I had to fill out. And I’ve never been delinquent! Something is still not right!

Does anyone know the outcome of todays court hearing regarding the Temporary Restraining Order and release of membership contact information?

Does anyone know anything about this? Is there anyway to get out of ownership at this ripoff place?

Lynn O'Donnell has been given a list of owners to contact about taking back contracts for no cost, past due maint. fees excused, no ding on credit reports. She told me that, if you are on her list of owners wishing out, you will be contacted eventually. No point in calling her unless you are not on her list and want to be.

Lynn O'Donnell contacted me yesterday saying I was in the early give back group -- probably because I made the offer over 4 years ago. She needed my SS # and that of the Co-owner, my ex wife. Her attorney suggested getting a statement from Lynn that SS# will only be used as necessary for paperwork with NY state to facilitate the transfer. I received that from her and transfer is now in progress. She states it will be about 60 days until I see final paperwork It turns out that the Green xxxx Company wants them to resell. Fine with me since 4 years ago, my attorney told me not to pay any more annual fees since TMC hard breached their contract with me. Great advice from my attorney of over 40 years. Over $12 saved.

I called today. Lynn's message says she is getting many calls. I want to give back my timeshare. My dues are current but I don't want to be burdened by the annual payments. I hope she will put me on the "list"

Message from Jean-Marc Zimmerman of Zimmerman Law Group:

We understand that various TMC timeshare owners who are in default on their maintenance fee and tax payments are receiving “offers” to give-back their interests (“units”) for zero compensation, with no liability for past due fees or taxes. We do not understand, from the public posts, exactly who is offering to acquire the units. TMC has no budget to acquire units, and at the annual meeting, made no suggestion that there would be any acquisitions, and in fact the Board made clear that there would be no acquisitions. TMC does not apparently have the right to simply forgive the bad debt, and if they do acquire the units back from owners, it has no mechanism to resell them.

Similarly, it would be a breach of fiduciary duty and waste of corporate assets for TMC to simply give these units to BlueGreen or the Eichners, and the valuation for such a transfer would require a forensic accountant since any such transaction is an interested party transaction. It appears from TMC’s timeshare plan that BlueGreen cannot simply acquire the units directly from owners, without paying the arrearages to TMC in order to be able to use or resell those units.

TMC is a valuable asset. If we assume for the sake of argument that TMC is worth $150 million, then each of the 286 rooms is worth approximately $10,000 per week.

However, by virtue of the wrongful conduct committed by TMC’s Sponsor (as admitted in the Assurance of Discontinuance) and given the current onerous management contract and excessive maintenance fees still being charged, many owners are sufficiently demoralized with their TMC ownership experience to be willing to give back their units, with no return of either the whole or a portion of their initial equity investment.

Thus, the Sponsor has achieved its apparent goal of making the timeshare owners’ equity worthless. This is a key basis for our proposed suit, and we believe that if TMC was properly managed, and freed of the Sponsor’s wrongful conduct and existing management contract, it could be as good an “investment” as owners believed when they first paid their hard-earned dollars to purchase their units.

The give-back offer is an apparent furtherance of an effort to appropriate the entirety of the $400 million dollars paid by the timeshare owners in the first place.

So, if an owner is in arrears significantly less than $10,000, we believe that the offer to return the equity interest is not a good offer. One must presume that that acquirer of the inventory sees a potential for profit in doing so. However, it appears that they want to keep the current market value suppressed to zero until they can appropriate all of the available units for their own ends. Of course, if an owner owes arrearages of greater than $10,000, and the buyer is the proper entity to grant a waiver or release of the owner’s debt (or is willing to pay the arrearages to TMC in cash), that could be a good deal. But, the willingness of an entity to do so must be considered evidence of a profit motivation. Please note that the rescission of debt is taxable income, and the owner may have to pay taxes on the forgiven debt. Meanwhile, the reduction in value of the timeshare is a capital loss and might not be fully deductible. Please consult a competent attorney, before entering into any such transaction! In conclusion, this new information regarding the proposed give-back of timeshare interests currently in default is significant and needs to be monitored, and as we more fully understand the facts, we will study the applicable law and consider action.

Jean-Marc Zimmerman Zimmerman Law Group 233 Watchung Fork Westfield, NJ 07090 jmz@tmcsuit.com

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