Two timeshare buyers win refunds from Coral Resorts
Two out-of-state couples got their money back in disputes with Hilton Head Island timeshare company Coral Resorts, according to court documents made public this week.
In separate lawsuits, private arbitrators ruled the company violated aspects of the S.C. Timeshare Act in its dealings with Jaye and LaKeyshia Denson of Georgia and Michael and Barbara Jackson of North Carolina, according to the court documents.
As a result, arbitrators voided the couples' contracts and ordered the company to refund the money.
Arbitration is a private proceeding in which an arbitrator -- usually a lawyer -- reviews evidence and imposes a legally binding decision that is enforceable in court.
In 38 of the more than 60 lawsuits against the company, buyers signed contracts that require arbitration.
Arbitrator Curtis Coltrane, a Hilton Head attorney and former Beaufort County master-in-equity, said the company did not provide the Densons with the proper paperwork when the couple signed a contract in August 2013, according to his ruling.
He ruled the company violated the act because its contract was missing key information, it did not have a correct public offering statement, and it did not have a notary witness the signing, a requirement of the law.
The contract was therefore voided, according to Coltrane's 12-page ruling.
The Densons received a full refund of $3,578, according to the ruling.
In his two-page ruling, arbitrator Richard Hinson, a Florence attorney, said the company violated the act but did not specify how. He also ruled the company committed negligent misrepresentation in its dealings with the Jacksons, who bought a timeshare in September 2013.
The Jacksons received a full refund of $4,141, according to the ruling.
PRECEDENT SET?
The decisions mark the first rulings in the company's three-year legal battle with dozens of disgruntled Coral Resorts purchasers.
Attorneys for the company and the buyers disagreed Wednesday about what effect the rulings will have on other lawsuits pending in state and federal court.
Five of those suits were dismissed last month in federal court, according to court records.
Most buyers allege they were misled by sales pitches and signed contracts that didn't reflect what they were told when they bought at one of the company's Hilton Head properties: Port O'Call at Shipyard Plantation, Island Links, Coral Reef and Coral Sands resorts.
The company denies the allegations and says the buyers signed binding contracts that included a five-day right to cancel.
Attorneys for the couples say the new rulings could set a precedent.
"I think it shows there is hope for people who have similar claims against this company," Hilton Head attorney Zach Naert said Wednesday. Naert and law partner Joseph DuBois represent clients in all of the suits.
But an attorney for the company says what's more telling are claims the arbitrators dismissed.
Both arbitrators ruled the company did not commit fraud, unfair trade practices or intentional misrepresentation, according to the documents.
Those claims are made frequently in the other lawsuits against the company.
"With those causes of action come major damages. They were not able to recover those because they had no evidence that those existed," Columbia-based attorney Nekki Shutt said. "There is no evidence anyone did anything intentionally inappropriate."
She said she thinks the two rulings set no precedent for other lawsuits.
"It does not have any effect," she said. "If this was a full trial in a real court where you have discovery, it might mean something different."
As of Wednesday evening, no court dates for the other lawsuits have been scheduled.
Follow reporter Dan Burley on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Dan.
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This story was originally published July 1, 2015 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Two timeshare buyers win refunds from Coral Resorts."