[ 2012 ] Fairmont / Sunchaser / Northwynd official thread with lawsuit info!

[tssuck]

Without prejudice
Not necessarily.....there were people in option one that Geldert bullied saying "by signing they committed themselves to paying" and they can't afford to pay.
Without prejudice

We are in option 1 and did NOT pay. I believe that makes us part of the "76" who are going to appeal

 

[aden2]

The Albert decision by Judge Young, " dispute notes and counterclaims are abuse of process." The trial was decided before it was started. The pamphlet from Alberta Justice Court Services "Commencing a claim in Provincial Court Civil page 12 " - If you feel that there are some facts in your favour, do not be reluctant to defend yourself. You do this by completing the form called a Dispute Note .... You may include in the dispute Note any claim you may have against the plaintiff ..."

I checked with Civil Division and their are 3 JUDGEMENTS FILED against me but Judge Young would not allow SLG to make one amendment!

 

[CleoB]

We are in option 1 and did NOT pay. I believe that makes us part of the "76" who are going to appeal

You chose not to pay or couldn't afford to pay? There are 3 groups, option 1 that paid, option 1 that couldn't afford to pay and option 2 that were punted by Geldert/fired Geldert/chose not to pay.

 

[tssuck]

You chose not to pay or couldn't afford to pay? There are 3 groups, option 1 that paid, option 1 that couldn't afford to pay and option 2 that were punted by Geldert/fired Geldert/chose not to pay.

Option 1 that chose Not to pay. With Geldert and chose NOT to pay.

 

[NeverNeverAgain]

We are in option 1 and did NOT pay. I believe that makes us part of the "76" who are going to appeal

I believe the 76 (or 77) meet ALL THREE of the following conditions:

1. Were Gildert clients
2. Sued in Alberta
3. Fired Gildert (option 2) before the latest settlement deadline.

If you are option 1, I DON'T think you are part of the 76. If you were sued in Alberta, you may still have a chance to appeal, that is not clear to me. Some may consider themselves option 1 even though they fired Gildert before the latest settlement deadline (Dec 29?), because they initially selected option 1. However, I think they are actually option 2 if you fired Gildert by then. It was never clear to me that you could leave option 1, but I think some did. I know this is confusing.

 

[tssuck]

I believe the 76 (or 77) meet ALL THREE of the following conditions:

1. Were Gildert clients
2. Sued in Alberta
3. Fired Gildert (option 2) before the latest settlement deadline.

If you are option 1, I DON'T think you are part of the 76. If you were sued in Alberta, you may still have a chance to appeal, that is not clear to me. Some may consider themselves option 1 even though they fired Gildert before the latest settlement deadline (Dec 29?), because they initially selected option 1. However, I think they are actually option 2 if you fired Gildert by then. It was never clear to me that you could leave option 1, but I think some did. I know this is confusing.

We signed option 1, never fired Geldert and never paid. We live in the US and have an enquiry into Barry King to find out what list we are on, if we are on a list. We need to know this last part to determine if we are part of the 76/77.

 

[LilMaggie]

Could someone in the know please clarify who is able to do what so that we can find solutions to our dilemma. Who is eligible to join the May 10 appeal in Edmonton? Who would benefit, or is eligible to write a dispute notice and/or counterclaim? Who is eligible to sue MG, etc...? Sadly, it appears that we may be more confused than ever.

 

[aden2]

It would appear that anyone that is not happy should join the hearing. A commitment must be made before May 3rd. Apparently the contract that NM has been successful with seems to be illegal and has imposed the Courts to accept. There is no pay out clause in our contracts! Under Judge Young's decision No Dispute Notes were Accepted.

 

[Sunchaser Barbados]

Second paragraph partially correct, partially incorrect.

I am not an Option 1 but can certainly enlighten you.

One part is correct and one part isn't? That's it, you aren't going to be any more helpful than that?

Punter said "owner1" as in the person posting, not Option 1. Most of us think that if owner1 isn't Wankel, they might as well be. There is no more Kool-Aid left because between owner1 and TSWOW, also Wankel or a sycophant, they've drank it all.

 

[NeverNeverAgain]

We signed option 1, never fired Geldert and never paid. We live in the US and have an enquiry into Barry King to find out what list we are on, if we are on a list. We need to know this last part to determine if we are part of the 76/77.

Could someone in the know please clarify who is able to do what so that we can find solutions to our dilemma. Who is eligible to join the May 10 appeal in Edmonton? Who would benefit, or is eligible to write a dispute notice and/or counterclaim? Who is eligible to sue MG, etc...? Sadly, it appears that we may be more confused than ever.

As a rule of thumb, those that live in Alberta were sued in Alberta. Those that do not live in Alberta, were sued in BC. There are exceptions, so everyone should be asking their lawyer if they do not know for sure or find their case in a court. There were some posts a long ways back that gave links to the many actions filed.

Those sued in Alberta still have the appeal. Those sued in BC are kind of stuck at the moment other than suing MG and waiting for the BC Law society investigation. NM and MG did a good job dividing us, which could be both good and bad. There are groups forming for each individual situation, just need to figure out your situation and try to locate that group. If there is no group, try to form one. By dividing us, there will be many fronts to this battle now.

Surprising, when judge Young ruled in Alberta on interest, it made the amount owed half in some cases for those in Alberta verses those in BC, making it a little unfair. I think this is a long ways from being over. I believe there is benefit for EVERYONE to send their stories to the Alberta appeal judge as I think this will continue and maybe re-open for BC people eventually, depending on the Alberta outcome. I settled and in BC, so I am not the one to address the specifics of the Alberta appeal, dispute notes, etc. Someone else please try to help in this area.

For those that hired MG to just take care of this, that did not happen. As many have discovered now, you will need to put in some effort, find others in your situation to help, and figure out the best plan to move forward. For those that did not hire MG and did not pay, the battle may just be starting.

 

[Shake Down]

Within option 1 people are two groups, those that actually paid to settle (120%) and those that did not pay the settlement (168% on consent judgement).

I had replied to Geldert's so called "Election" held late October he called it (SIF) Sunchaser Information Form, It said "You Elect" Option 1 or 2, I punched Opt 1 on his election ballot but the chad it did not fall, it was a "hanging chad" I also missed the opt-out date during the holidays and never paid the settlement!

I told MG regardless of how your brain thinks, I am out! Geldert replied, that my choice during his election "is a condition of the settlement and No right of withdrawal from the Settlement Agreement."

Ya ok Mikey G what do you know about breach of contract?......Now it's game on!

 

[Lostmyshirt]

How does this help us? Well it certainly indicates NM's conceivable intent to get rid of us one way or the other and if that was/is their intent why did they not just activate the "termination" clause in our contracts (I know different contracts, different termination clauses). Could be because they would have had to pay us money instead of the other way around?

If they had executed those clauses when we were first "delinquent" we would not have been put through this mess for all these years and been labelled the "abuse of process/vexatious" ones and been forced to pay out HUGE sums of money.

This letter that Truth received and posted for all of us is a very important piece to our puzzle - my assumption is this is probably not the only one that was sent out.

Collectively we are a network of people with different people we can reach out to personally or via other social media platforms such as those private Facebook groups different people belong too - please grab a copy of the letter and share it. Ask your network of people if they have received this and if not ask them to send it to their network of people - let's try and reach out to as many people as we can.

What would be important to find out is if there are more people who have received this and also when they received it is going to be very important - if we can track down other people we might be able to see a pattern and some may also be willing to share this. Moving down the road if this can be submitted as evidence it becomes very important as this is "new evidence" we all need for an appeal.

What this shows me and I would hope shows the Court is Northmont's goal was all about terminating Vias so they could get out of being a timeshare business and reclaim the land/buildings. If that is the case this should have been done in 2013 or 2014 for all the people who apposed the renovations and realignment as an option when we contested the cost to leave instead of allowing 5 years of interest and maintenance to accrue which is now just a bonus to Northmont and Geldert at our expense as a result of how badly Geldert represented us.

We could make a very strong case that Northmont should not be able to be the beneficiaries of our via's at our expense, 10's of millions of bonus dollars, and the land which would be free and clear for them to do as they please - the scale of who benefits from our Via terminations is so far tipped to one side it's completely prejudicial to us all no matter what group you are in.

****Could not agree more!!!!!!!!!!!! OMFG #NAFR we said all along this was their plan but somehow we got stung viciously/financially also I am positive it was their ultimate goal.

 

[Lostmyshirt]

I would be game to continue on, as all this stinks, has from day 1. Just no idea how/when/where.

 

[Petus@18]

Note:
"When considering the terms of a settlement, as part of his or her role as counsel and advocate, your lawyer will analyze whether the settlement is actually in your best interest. In rare instances a lawyer might seek quick finality to a case and pressure a client to accept a settlement, but a good lawyer will weigh all aspects of the proposed settlement and whether it will adequately compensate the client's losses. A good lawyer will also recognize that the ultimate decision on whether or not to settle belongs to the client'

'A settlement is a contract between the parties to a lawsuit that ends the case without a trial. ... Once the parties reach a settlement agreement, it becomes a binding contract, which can only be rescinded for limited reasons, such as fraud by one of the parties.'

Again, if you settled you have a reason to appeal. If you are part of the Reid's action, file an Affidavit requesting that your name don't be removed from the appeal as you wish to continue. Respectfully request that the settlement you signed be entered as a new evidence and be rescinded due to the way it was obtained by our former lawyer.
"To have a settlement set aside or voided, the defendants must have been unfairly induced to accept the settlement or release, and that the settlement or release must also be grossly unfair or grossly inadequate"

If you selected option 1 and did not pay, check with Barry King to see if you are part of the 76 defendants, if not, follow the suggestion made in Facebook:

'To all of you who have not paid, did you select option 2? If not, you should send Geldert an email or a letter indicating that you are changing your mind and are now selecting option 2. You can indicate that he did not provide you with enough information or time to make an informed decision, anything else you want to include, etc. By sending him this change in status, you should be able to continue on with the appeal. Keep a copy of the email or letter for your records. Right now 76 people are included in the appeal, those people are the ones that selected option 2. If you want to make sure you are a part of that appeal, you have to ensure that you are option 2. Neither lawyer in court stated how many of the people that "settled" actually paid.'

Whether you settled or not, but are part of the Goldbergs' action, you should file a dispute note and counterclaim as per Aden2's suggestion. The same for those who settled and will be filing (or not filing) an Affidavit and are part of the Reid's action, you should also file a dispute note and counterclaim RE the civil claims before they are discontinued.

Just my opinion. You should get legal advice to confirm what is best for you.

 

[dotbuhler]

So, asking once again, has anybody other than the one person who received the Northmont letter that Truth posted gotten an exact same copy of that letter? Or is this the only known one in existence?

 

[SuperBar]

As a rule of thumb, those that live in Alberta were sued in Alberta. Those that do not live in Alberta, were sued in BC. There are exceptions, so everyone should be asking their lawyer if they do not know for sure or find their case in a court. There were some posts a long ways back that gave links to the many actions filed.

Those sued in Alberta still have the appeal. Those sued in BC are kind of stuck at the moment other than suing MG and waiting for the BC Law society investigation. NM and MG did a good job dividing us, which could be both good and bad. There are groups forming for each individual situation, just need to figure out your situation and try to locate that group. If there is no group, try to form one. By dividing us, there will be many fronts to this battle now.

Surprising, when judge Young ruled in Alberta on interest, it made the amount owed half in some cases for those in Alberta verses those in BC, making it a little unfair. I think this is a long ways from being over. I believe there is benefit for EVERYONE to send their stories to the Alberta appeal judge as I think this will continue and maybe re-open for BC people eventually, depending on the Alberta outcome. I settled and in BC, so I am not the one to address the specifics of the Alberta appeal, dispute notes, etc. Someone else please try to help in this area.

For those that hired MG to just take care of this, that did not happen. As many have discovered now, you will need to put in some effort, find others in your situation to help, and figure out the best plan to move forward. For those that did not hire MG and did not pay, the battle may just be starting.

I totally agree with your summary and perspective. A few questions for you and everyone else.
1) In light of the appeal developments in Alberta, have you gained any legal advice as to how this may affect you as one who is sued in BC? If not yet has anyone else in this forum done so and if so, could you please share your insights?
2) For those sued in BC is there any effort to consolidate under a single legal representative, notably one not named Geldert (while we are each responsible for seeking our own legal advice, it seems that we are potentially spending a lot more money individually to answer essentially the same questions)?
3) You reference 'groups forming' for each situation. Where are these groups to be found? Facebook? I know there were support groups formed on Facebook (Thx Truthr) and I know some of you have met in person either at court or elsewhere to discuss but based on the comments here there is a consistent response to these developments - we are isolated, somewhat confused and not sure where to turn for the right. Say what will about how Geldert handled things, at least we were all receiving the same communication and felt somewhat plugged in to the process. We need to get that back some how.

 

[CleoB]

So, asking once again, has anybody other than the one person who received the Northmont letter that Truth posted gotten an exact same copy of that letter? Or is this the only known one in existence?

Good question....one that I would like to know as well. Seems odd that is was not signed by anyone to validate it.

 

[NeverNeverAgain]

I totally agree with your summary and perspective. A few questions for you and everyone else.
1) In light of the appeal developments in Alberta, have you gained any legal advice as to how this may affect you as one who is sued in BC? If not yet has anyone else in this forum done so and if so, could you please share your insights?
2) For those sued in BC is there any effort to consolidate under a single legal representative, notably one not named Geldert (while we are each responsible for seeking our own legal advice, it seems that we are potentially spending a lot more money individually to answer essentially the same questions)?
3) You reference 'groups forming' for each situation. Where are these groups to be found? Facebook? I know there were support groups formed on Facebook (Thx Truthr) and I know some of you have met in person either at court or elsewhere to discuss but based on the comments here there is a consistent response to these developments - we are isolated, somewhat confused and not sure where to turn for the right. Say what will about how Geldert handled things, at least we were all receiving the same communication and felt somewhat plugged in to the process. We need to get that back some how.

I understand your feelings and frustration and isolation, we can all relate.

I do not have personal legal advice on the BC court decision. I think it is too early yet, waiting on the BC Law society investigation and further developments in Alberta. EVERYONE needs to send their stories and complaints to the BC Law society if not done so already. EVERYONE should send their stories to the Alberta court, maybe they will be heard. EVERYONE should send their stories to the MLA's and MP's to let them all know how many of us this has affected and it is not over yet. The first step is to take the time to write down your personal story and situation. Second, send your story to get it out to those that are in a position to help. I know the big push for this was a few months ago before the MG excellent settlement, but I dont think it is to late. There are still many trapped in this mess that have not paid. Many that did pay still consider this not over so please do so, if not done already, in this time as things are getting redefined and reset.

The groups I know of are mainly on Facebook, but there does seem to be a networks of people that know each other as well. As Truth said in a post above, I think the groups are still struggling to form and get information on their options and best path to proceed. This will take more time and effort, and I am sure the admins will reach out and open these groups when paths are known, a direction is established, and the time is right. For now, this forum is the only spot I know of everyone can access and share common information, so we should continue to take advantage of this forum to share common information. There may not yet be groups for every situation, the 76 (or 77) Alberta option 2 people for instance (this is so complicated not even the lawyers can agree). Someone needs to take charge to consolidate this group and find the best path to proceed. If the group ends up being redundant with another, I suspect they will merge with time. Unfortunately, because we have different legal situations now, I don't think it is possible to all consolidate as one. Consolidating into groups with the same of similar legal situations will still save money and effort for those group of people.

 

[Saving Grace]

We filed the dispute and counter claim yesterday and were told that many disputes had been filed and it would take months before it comes to our turn for the Court appearance.
Imagine there were 14,500 leases, 22% in dispute = 3,190, of which 1228 were in the "Test Case", so there should still be roughly 1,962 outstanding.

BTW, does anyone have any idea the total number of time share units are at the Resort? My husband is thinking there's a possibility of the time share units being oversold..

 

[truthr]

We filed the dispute and counter claim yesterday and were told that many disputes had been filed and it would take months before it comes to our turn for the Court appearance.
Imagine there were 14,500 leases, 22% in dispute = 3,190, of which 1228 were in the "Test Case", so there should still be roughly 1,962 outstanding.

BTW, does anyone have any idea the total number of time share units are at the Resort? My husband is thinking there's a possibility of the time share units being oversold..

To my knowledge anyone who is/was a Geldert client at the time of the hearings in both AB and BC are governed by the decision/judgment of both Judge Young (AB) and Judge Branch (BC) and the only legal course of action is the appeal in AB. The one in BC was squashed in November 2017, however the Supplementary Judgment of Judge Branch was just handed down on January 31, 2018 so although the statute of limitation on an appeal of that later judgment may have expired - some experienced lawyer in BC may be able to do something.

As for AB the "speak to" for the appeal that was held Thursday, March 8th, 2018 was regarding Judge Young's original decision handed down in October 2017, not the Supplementary Judgment of February 28th, 2018 (that one I suspect NM will be appealing given her ruling on the interest).

Whatever clerk you are speaking to at the courthouse are just that "clerks", they are not lawyers and although they may have heard of our "case" they may not know all the ins and outs and twists and turns. Judge Young already ruled on the "amended dispute notes" our legal team tried to sneak in at the eleventh hour.

I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV or stage and I am certainly not trying to discourage anyone from doing whatever they can to assist themselves in this mess just sharing my perspective.

 

[Saving Grace]

To my knowledge anyone who is/was a Geldert client at the time of the hearings in both AB and BC are governed by the decision/judgment of both Judge Young (AB) and Judge Branch (BC) and the only legal course of action is the appeal in AB. The one in BC was squashed in November 2017, however the Supplementary Judgment of Judge Branch was just handed down on January 31, 2018 so although the statute of limitation on an appeal of that later judgment may have expired - some experienced lawyer in BC may be able to do something.

As for AB the "speak to" for the appeal that was held Thursday, March 8th, 2018 was regarding Judge Young's original decision handed down in October 2017, not the Supplementary Judgment of February 28th, 2018 (that one I suspect NM will be appealing given her ruling on the interest).

Whatever clerk you are speaking to at the courthouse are just that "clerks", they are not lawyers and although they may have heard of our "case" they may not know all the ins and outs and twists and turns. Judge Young already ruled on the "amended dispute notes" our legal team tried to sneak in at the eleventh hour.

I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV or stage and I am certainly not trying to discourage anyone from doing whatever they can to assist themselves in this mess just sharing my perspective.

Yes, you are right. The lady who made the comment obviously don't know all the ins and outs. Her comment basically reflects the fact that she and her colleagues notice a lot of disputes being filed against NM lately, which in our view is a good thing.

 

[NeverNeverAgain]

I am guessing Saving Grace was not a MG client. I am also guessing that all non MG clients could still do dispute notes and still have their day in court, at least in Alberta, correct? If so, they have some bad rulings to overcome. However, they can learn from the MG mistakes. I would guess a good lawyer might have an easy time of this for that group. I think the 1,962 number might be a little high, but point taken that there are likely more than 1,000 in this position. Anyone out there that than can fill in some details to help this group?

For those former Alberta MG clients, it appears dispute notes are being accepted for the appeal, and maybe from all Alberta people, option 1 or option 2. However, this is not clear to me.

 

[truthr]

Here is a link to another casualty of this mess. I do not know this person and suspect he is not part of the Geldert Group. Since he has shared his story publicly on his personal Facebook wall I am sharing the link to it here.


https://www.facebook.com/kgdunham/posts/10156005105100170

 

[torqued]

Would be interested in what my American friends that have not paid are doing or if you have a plan. We were likely all served in BC?

 

[Broke Mama]

Would be interested in what my American friends that have not paid are doing or if you have a plan. We were likely all served in BC?

We are from the US and we are all thinking the same thing. We dont know what to do! We owned before 2004 and we didnt take settlement, Geldert wont talk to us, so we thought Geldert had said if we didnt take settlement we would be option 2 and not have him as a lawyer. We have not heard anything from Northmont either!