Another Hilton Head Island timeshare company has come under fire.
Two North Carolina residents filed a federal class-action lawsuit Friday against Spinnaker Resorts.
The
lawsuit alleges the company broke the law by not registering with the
state to sell timeshares at Bluewater by Spinnaker -- its resort on
Squire Pope Road -- until September 2014. Before that time, the company
"knowingly sold unregistered timeshares to the general public," the suit
says.
The company has not responded to the lawsuit. Attempts Tuesday to reach representatives from Spinnaker were unsuccessful.
Legal
experts say the case could devastate the company since state law allows
timeshare owners who bought from an unregistered company to cancel
contracts, according to the lawsuit and the S.C. Timeshare Act.
"If
owners can reverse most of the sales before that time, I'm sure this
company would be seeking Chapter 11 relief," said Mike Finn, a Largo,
Fla., attorney whose firm specializes in timeshare law.
It was not
known Tuesday how many owners bought timeshares before Spinnaker
registered Bluewater. The company started building the 86-unit complex
on the banks of Skull Creek in 2005.
It registered Bluewater on
Sept. 2, 2014, according to a copy of the registration included in the
lawsuit. Spinnaker also runs Waterside, Southwind, Egret Point and
Carolina Club on Hilton Head, as well as resorts in Florida and
Missouri.
The lawsuit was filed by Mark and Paula Fullbright, who
bought a $26,000 timeshare at Bluewater in June 2014, according to court
records.
After buying, the Fullbrights found out the company was not registered to sell Bluewater timeshares.
"My
clients filed a federal lawsuit ... To void the timeshare contract and
obtain a full refund of all monies paid under the contract," Joseph
DuBois, a Hilton Head attorney representing the couple, said in a
statement. The lawsuit asks that other owners who bought before
September 2014 have the option to receive the same refund.
