Royal Oasis Timeshare Owners Take Legal Action

Timeshare owners at the closed Royal Oasis filed a class action suit against the resort owner in a Florida Federal Court on four counts, including breach of contract.

The petition has been at least six months in the making and names Sunrise Properties Limited, Driftwood Freeport Limited and Driftwood Hospitality Management, LLC. as the defendants.

The owners say they have essentially been excommunicated from the resort since November 2004 and are fed up as their attempts to reach the resort have gone unreturned.

The Crowne Plaza Golf Resort and Casino at the Royal Oasis suffered two hurricanes in September 2004 and closed down.

In a November 4, 2004 letter, timeshare owners learned that the resort had anticipated re-opening the vacation club on June 1, 2005, but that never materialized.

Some owners were also informed that there was a hold on their timeshare points.

Desperate for answers, after not hearing anything for several weeks despite countless calls, e-mails and letters, timeshare owners reached out to this daily, The Bahamas government officials and even Prime Minister Christie.

Heading the list of plaintiffs which includes hundreds of other timeshare owners in the suit is timeshare owner Robert Snee of Massachusetts.

The 13-page legal document lists the four counts as breach of contract, breach of the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment and for a declaration of Snee and the class' ownership rights and interests in their timeshare units.

The Royal Oasis property includes a casino, country club and tower and is the second largest resort on the island.

Government is seeking out a buyer for the defunct resort and, at last report, there were two.

Attorney Carlin Phillips, of Phillips and Garcia, P.C. Counsellors at Law of Massachusetts, in an interview with The Freeport News, said with the sale in limbo, they believe the timeshare owners have at least a lease-hold interest and maybe even some kind of property interest in the timeshare units.

He pointed out that a lot of the owners who paid cash in advance for their timeshare are out thousands of dollars with contracts bought up for years.

"We're trying to assert their rights for monies they have lost in the past and what they will lose in the future," said Phillips. "Because if the resort is not going to be developed, they're losing year after year."

Snee purchased his unit back in November 2001 at the Vacation Club at Bahamia for $6,000 and his membership agreement entitled him to all the advantages and benefits of the club for 21 consecutive years.

After paying the balance of the purchase price in March 2002, he owned his unit and his rights don't expire until after the 2022 occupancy.

But he is not alone.

For some time, many timeshare owners were afraid to stop making payments to their maintenance fees after the closure of the resort for fear they would lose their points and their timeshare altogether.

There was, however, the hope the resort would reopen soon.

According to the claim, the November 1, 2004 letter from the defendants revealed that the members who lost their week would have their weeks replaced and that they were required to continue paying monthly payments and maintenance fees.

Pointing out the defendants never repaired or reopened the resort, the suit revealed the timeshare owners have not been notified about the status of their units and their rights.

It adds that the timeshare owners have been given no assurance that their timeshare interests will be protected if the property is sold.

According to the suit, a clause in the contract reveals that the membership agreement states that should the resort be delayed from performing any obligations by reason or as a result of any peril and in the event the timeshare owner is unable to use his unit as a result of damage to the unit, the resort — at its discretion — will provide either an alternate accomodation or refund one-21st of the price paid by the timeshare owner for each unit week the timeshare owner is unable to use it as a result of damage from an insured peril.