KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Legal Newsline) – Westgate Resorts has filed a motion to dismiss a complaint made against it by 39 plaintiffs, some of whom bought timeshares for the company’s resort in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
The company asked the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville on Dec. 7 to dismiss the lawsuit or separate the plaintiffs and bring the complaints forward on an individual basis. The motion notes that only 16 of the plaintiffs actually purchased timeshares directly from Westgate Resorts. The remaining plaintiffs purchased them from other companies outside of the state.
“Because plaintiffs who purchased their timeshare interests from the other developers did not purchase timeshare interests from Westgate Resorts LTD LP, the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted to them against Westgate Resorts LTD LP as a matter of law, and those claims should be dismissed,” the motion stated.
Westgate also claims that a portion of the contracts signed by the plaintiffs presents a good case to have the lawsuit tossed.
That part of the contract states that a purchaser “hereby waives and agrees not to assert by way of motion, defense or otherwise in any such suit, action or proceeding any claim that purchaser is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of the above-named courts, that such suit, action or proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum or that the venue of such suit, action or proceeding is improper. Purchaser hereby waives the right to collaterally attack any judgment or action in any other forum,” the motion cites.
Westgate also filed a motion to strike with regards to the jury demanded by the plaintiffs, again claiming a section in the purchase contract forbids it.
That section states: “Each party hereto knowingly, voluntarily, and intentionally waives any right it may have to a trial by jury with respect to any litigation (including, but not limited to, any claims, cross-claims, counterclaims, or third party claims) arising out of, under, or in connection with this agreement or between the parties to this agreement, their affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, or assigns and irrespective of whether such litigation arises out of this agreement, by statute, or as a matter of tort law, and the parties hereto expressly consent to a non-jury trial in the event of any of the foregoing,” according to the motion.
In their complaint, the plaintiffs noted that the consolidation was “judicially efficient because of shared claims ... and very similar factual patterns,” according to the original complaint, which was filed in October in the Chancery Court for the 4th Judicial District for Sevier County, Tennessee.
The plaintiffs allege Westgate manipulated them into purchasing the timeshares.
“False promises and concealments were made by defendant Westgate through its salespersons, its management, and its methods and systems, all with the intention of inducing plaintiffs to make a purchase that day, which never would have been done absent fraud or had the true contract terms been disclosed in an open light,” the complaint states.
They allege they were falsely told that timeshares were good investments that would increase in value and that they are a long-term asset that can be resold for profit. They noted that thousands of Westgate timeshares listed on eBay have not sold, even those priced at $1.
The plaintiffs filed their suit over allegations of fraudulent misrepresentation, violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, the Tennessee Timeshare Act and other counts. They seek to rescind the contracts between them and Westgate and any money paid to be returned.