Zoeller
INDIANAPOLIS (Legal Newsline) - Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced a $217,725 default judgment against a Super Bowl home rental company that allegedly ripped off 32 Hoosier home owners prior to the game.
The Arizona-based Super Week Lodging LLC and Josh Hanna, its owner, failed to respond to a lawsuit filed by the state. As a result, the Marion County Superior Court granted a default judgment against the defendants for $217,725.
"While the state won its lawsuit against Super Week Lodging the company has not yet paid the judgment - leaving victims without restitution," Zoeller said. "Our office will aggressively pursue collection efforts to help give relief to the homeowners who were ripped off."
During the 2012 Super Bowl in Indianapolis, multiple out-of-state home rental companies offered to list, photograph and rent residents' homes to football fans. Super Week Lodging allegedly took money upfront from homeowners and failed to provide either services or refunds.
In December, Super Week Lodging advertised that it would help residents rent their homes during the Super Bowl by listing the properties on its website for a fee. The company allegedly promised that the fee would be refunded if the homes were not rented. The upfront online listing fee ranged from $850 to $1,495. In some cases, a photographer did go to the homes of the consumers to take website pictures.
The default judgment amounts to $176,000 in civil penalties, $40,975 in consumer restitution and $750 in costs. The court also placed an injunction on Super Week Lodging to prevent future acts of deception.
Major Event Rentalz, a separate Arizona-based Super Bowl home rental company, also faces a state lawsuit but has refunded nine of 17 consumers who filed a complaint. The company collected fees that ranged from $450 to $5,544 and allegedly failed to provide either services or refunds to consumers.