Timeshare company alleges Hilton Head attorneys leaked sealed transcript
Hilton Head Island timeshare company Coral Resorts has alleged that two attorneys representing disgruntled timeshare owners are responsible for leaking a sealed document in July to The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette.
In a court filing, the company says lawyers Zach Naert and Joseph DuBois illegally mailed a copy of a sealed transcript of the company's hearing before a state regulatory body. The lawyers deny the claim.
The transcript of a Jan. 23, 2013, hearing before the S.C. Real Estate Commission -- kept from the public by order of two courts and a state regulatory official -- shows Coral Resorts' lawyers pleading for a tight lid on information they claimed could damage the company.
The commission called the hearing to discuss fees the company owed and its registration to sell timeshares. The company operates Port O'Call at Shipyard Plantation, Island Links, Coral Sands and Coral Reef resorts on Hilton Head.
The commission ruled that the company's registration was intact and let it pay its late fees, according to the transcript. However, attorneys for unhappy timeshare owners argue that their clients' contracts are invalid because the company owed fees when the contracts were signed.
A computer disk containing the 114-page transcript arrived in the newspapers' mailbox July 7 in a yellow padded envelope with no postmark or return address. The newspapers posted the transcript on their websites because they believe it is a public record and doing so is in the public interest. The newspapers have filed a motion that challenges the sealing of the record.
Coral Resorts says the digital copy posted by the newspapers matches the digital copy the attorneys attempted to use as evidence last May, according to the court filing. The attorneys received the transcript "through an unsanctioned release from a government regulator," the filing says.
The digital copies were created by the same scanner at the same time: 9:12 a.m. May 10, 2013, said digital forensics expert Steven Abrams in an affidavit. Abrams reviewed the copies for Coral Resorts.
That scanner matches the one Naert and DuBois used to scan other documents, Coral Resorts says.
Furthermore, the company argues, the physical characteristics of the copies are the same.
"The markings showing the hole punches, handwritten notations and even dust specs (sic) on the pages appear identical," the filing says.
In an emailed statement Friday, Naert and DuBois called the company's allegations "entirely baseless."
"(We) have no knowledge whatsoever about who, when, why, where or how the transcript was sent to the newspaper," they said.
They did not address specific questions about the evidence detailed in the court filing. The pair represent clients in 38 lawsuits against the company.
In the lawsuits, timeshare owners allege they were misled by salespeople and signed contracts that did not reflect what they were told when they bought units. Coral Resorts denies the claims.
The attorneys have argued the sealed transcript bolsters their clients' claims, and they want to use it as evidence in court.
Coral Resorts has asked that the file not be allowed. The company also wants a judge to hold the attorneys in contempt for allegedly leaking it.
Those requests and more than 50 other motions are scheduled to be heard by Circuit Court Judge Ernest Kinard on Wednesday in Beaufort. He's overseeing 14 lawsuits against the company. The rest are in arbitration, according to court records.
Follow reporter Dan Burley on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Dan.
Related content:
- Coral Resorts recognized by guests, Sept. 16, 2014
- Timeshare owners challenge Coral Resorts in federal court, Aug. 24, 2014
- Timeshare owners speak out against Hilton Head Island resort, Aug. 2, 2014
This story was originally published September 20, 2014 at 6:19 PM with the headline "Timeshare company alleges Hilton Head attorneys leaked sealed transcript."