Norman Zwicky et al. v Diamond

Summary:

Members of Premiere Vacation Collection Owners Assoc. (one of 8 collections) sued for board abuse, intentional underestimation of maintenance fees.

Claims: Class Action – RICO, AZ RICO, Breach of Fiduciary Duty under AZ Timeshare Act

“This suit stems from a 2015 state action that Zwicky filed in the Maricopa County Superior Court seeking to enforce his statutory and common law inspection rights as a timeshare owner. See Zwicky v. Premiere Vacation Collection Owners Ass’n, No. CV2015-051911 (Ariz. Super. 2015) (the “State Inspection Action”). Zwicky questioned why he was charged annual assessments and fees that were materially higher than previous years. See generally id. In August 2021, Plaintiffs filed their Third Amended Class Action Complaint (“TAC”) (Doc. 109) and brought three causes of action: Count I against all Defendants for violation of the Federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (“Federal RICO”), 18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq.; Count II against all Defendants for violation of the Arizona Civil Racketeering Statute (“Arizona RICO”), A.R.S. § 13- 2312(B); and Count III against Defendant Individuals for breach of fiduciary duty. (Id. at ¶¶ 130–85). In short, the TAC alleged Defendants failed to disclose certain charges and overcharged timeshare owners annual assessments by imposing those hidden costs as ordinary common expenses. (See Doc. 144 at 4).”

Related: Zwicky v. Premiere Vacation Collection Owners Ass’n, 418 P.3d 1001, 1003 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2018) “corporate books and records inspection action” – disclosure for purposes of lawsuit allowed

STATUS: Class approved for purposes of settlement after mediation w/ Edward Infante; Settlement of $13M fund for owners/class members. $3,250,000.00 for attorneys’ fees and $22,335.45 for costs.