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PHOTO BY DAN WALTON
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Rockies’ season gets underway
After collecting pledges in preparation for the big day, Wyatt (left) and Hannah Fullerton stretch their muscles before the Terry Fox Run in Invermere on Sunday, September 14th. For more photos from the weekend, see page 12.
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Court battle over Sunchaser Vacation Villas heats up DAN WALTON dan@invermerevalleyecho.com Nearly 1,000 owners at Sunchaser Villas have entered into a class-action lawsuit against Northmont Resort Properties Ltd. in a dispute over a costly renovation project at the Fairmont Hot Springs holiday destination. “The basis for the lawsuit is that Northmont has breached its contractual obligations to timeshare owners and leaseholders at the resort,” said Michael Geldert, managing partner at Geldert Law who is representing the claimants. The class-action came together after costly renovation fees were charged to each owner of the 18,950 units. Sunchaser Villas was managed by Fairmont Resort Properties Ltd., which filed for bankruptcy in 2008. Northwynd Resort Properties Ltd. purchased Sunchaser from creditors, and
manages it through Northmont, which pose those fees last fall, but a subseis Northwynd’s subsidiary company. quent appeal was successful in reversAfter the takeover, the new manage- ing the decision. ment company said that under previAlthough the renovation charges ous management, owners had been were initially found to be legal, the repaying unsustainably low maintenance sult of the appeal did not make imposfees and that a large renovation proj- ing those fees illegal. ect would “Whether be required. or not that’s Owners were true is a given the opmatter of intion to either terpretation pay $4,195 before the to keep courts,” said their timeMr. Geldert. share unit, The class or $3,168 to action will opt out. continue The Sucollecting preme Court names until of B.C. apTimeshare owners of Sunchaser Vacation Vil- Friday, Sepp r o v e d las in Fairmont Hot Springs are organizing to file tember 19th, Northmont’s a class action lawsuit against property managers but will be FILE PHOTO flexible ability to im- Northmont Resort Properties. if
VJ (Butch) Bishop Owner/Operator 4846 Holland Creek Ridge Rd. Invermere, BC V0A 1K0
more interest is shown. A case-planning conference is scheduled for Tuesday, October 14th. All involved parties and a trustee will be present as the procedure for being heard will be laid out. Mr. Geldert said lawsuits of this nature normally last between one and 1.5 years, but that settlements usually take place before conclusion. “We’re certainly open to having those settlement discussions,” he said. He said that precedent has been set for similar lawsuits in B.C. and Alberta going back to the 1990s. “The timeshare industry has always seemed to have issues with resort managers who, for whatever reason find themselves between a rock and a hard place, and they start making decisions that ultimately attract some liability and concern on behalf of the people they are responsible for managing,” he said.
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