In June 2017 a timeshare seller sued a law firm in Nashville claiming that it was tricking timeshare owners. The claim is that timeshare owners are contacting the law firm for representation against alleged timeshare fraud, the owners pay their legal fees however, then the law firm never delivers the legal services it promises.
The lawsuit that has been raised against Castle Law Group PC (along with affiliates, lawyers and executives) and it states that the defendants created a scheme to canvass timeshare owners using false and misleading advertising. It Is claimed that their intent was of using their ‘timeshare advocate’ business to interfere with Kissimmee Florida based Orange Lake Country Club’s contracts and relationships with owners, which is the reason behind the lawsuit being raised by them.
The advertisement from the law firm states that “The lawyers and legal support staff will handle your case from start to finish, leaving you to enjoy your life and stop stressing about your timeshare,” according to the complaint. “Timeshare attorneys can negotiate a full and final settlement agreement that completely cancels your timeshare contract and timeshare debt.” Orange Lake employs 3,000 people to develop, finance and manage timeshare properties.
It’s alleged that once a timeshare owner contacts the firm, the non-attorney employees will convince the owners to default on the promissory notes and mortgages they have signed with Orange Lake in order to buy their timeshare interests.
The scheme allegedly involves executives William M. Keever and Sean Austin, who under the guise of capital investment firm Castle Venture Group LLC give funds to Castle Marketing Group LLC to fraudulently solicit business for attorney Judson Phillips of Castle Law Group, which is owned by Keever, according to Orange Lake’s complaint. Phillips, a former Shelby County, Tennessee, assistant district attorney, is best known as the founder of the for-profit corporation Tea Party Nation, which organised the first national Tea Party convention in February 2010. Another company named in the suit, Resort Relief LLC of Conroe, Texas, which is run by executive Kevin Hanson but owned by Austin, induces timeshare owners via fraudulent and deceptive advertising as well as direct phone calls to retain Castle Law’s services, the lawsuit said.
The suit also said that ‘In many instances, after the one-year or 18-month guaranty time period expired, Castle Law would inform clients that their timeshare contracts have been rescinded and that Castle Law was waiting for paperwork from the developer to finalize the matter,’ the suit said. ‘This was not the case. Castle Law was largely unsuccessful in its efforts to get the developers to cancel the contracts’ However, the non-attorney employees of the law firm had gone through all the pro’s and con’s of continuing payment to their timeshare company and at the same time, the defendants convince owners that they are legally representing them for a $7,500 retainer fee even though the defendants know the timeshare contracts have been made in good faith and are unlikely to be cancelled.
The lawsuit, which cites violations of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, demands a temporary and a permanent injunction against the Castle defendants for false advertising and contacting Orange Lake’s clients along with an award of costs and attorneys’ fees. Representatives for Orange Lake Country Club and Castle Law have not responded to requests for comment.
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk