Following an embarrassing showing earlier this month at a hearing to discuss Florida House Bill 435, the desperate and deceptive timeshare industry continues to flounder.

 

On March 19, a federal court dismissed Welk Resorts’ lawsuit against Schroeter Goldmark & Bender (SGB), who have been working with Timeshare Exit Team (TET) to exit unhappy Welk customers from “unfair or oppressive” timeshare contracts. The court also dismissed a majority of the causes of action against TET. The court found that the legal demand letters that SGB sent to Welk Resorts on behalf of “individuals who wanted to terminate their timeshare contracts based on high-pressure or deceptive sales techniques“ are privileged.

 

The court noted that protecting consumers from such the deceptive business practices alleged by the timeshare attorneys is “an issue of public interest,” and noted that other courts have found that lawsuits against attorneys represented an opposing party (such as the lawsuits brought by the timeshare developer against the TET attorneys representing timeshare owners) were retaliatory. The court expressed concern that allowing the developer’s lawsuit go forward against the timeshare attorneys following the demand letters that they sent on behalf of TET’s customers who wanted to terminate their timeshare contracts with Welk would “undermine[s] the established policy of allowing access to the courts.”

 

The Coalition to Reform Timeshare fully agrees, which is why we continue to spread the word about the often deceptive and predatory practices in this $9.6 billion industry.