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It is hard to believe but after years of struggle, the timeshare owners at Gurney's Inn may have finally reached a settlement. While not a complete victory it is way more than the trinket type settlement that seems common of most class action suits.
Details are still coming out but I received this email from info@gurneysowners.com.
My Fellow Gurney's Timeshare Owner(s):
Re: Your Gurney's: A Bird In The Hand...
Please answer true or false to the following statements:
As a Gurney's timeshare owner, I know all of Gurney's business decisions are predicated upon:
(i) Gurney's mission to ensure a flourishing, financially stable cooperative;
(ii) great concern for my interests as a Class A shareholder;
(iii) transparency, integrity, fairness and honesty;
(iv) the equal treatment of all shareholders, whether Class A or Class B.
How many of us can say “true” to any of those statements?
Sadly, I think we all know the answer.
BUT, WHAT IF:
THE MONTE-COOPER FAMILY, THEIR MORTGAGE AND THEIR CONTROL OVER GURNEY'S WERE GONE!
MAINTENANCE FEES WERE CUT BY 20% , FROM THE PRESENT $18.88 PER SHARE TO $15.10 PER SHARE!
THIS REDUCED MAINTENANCE IS GUARANTEED NOT TO INCREASE FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS!
THERE IS A GUARANTEE OF NO SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS!
THE NEW GURNEY'S IS OPERATED ON A TRANSPARENT BASIS, FULL DISCLOSURE, NO HIDDEN AGENDAS, NO SECRET AGREEMENTS, NO PREFERENTIAL TREATMENTS OF ONE CLASS OF SHAREHOLDERS OVER ANOTHER!
WHAT IF, in addition to the foregoing, YOU COULD ALSO CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING THREE OPTIONS:
OPTION 1: PAY THE GUARANTEED 20% REDUCED MAINTENANCE FOR 2013 AND RECEIVE A BUY-OUT PRICE WELL ABOVE PRESENT MARKET VALUE FOR YOUR UNIT AT THE END OF THIS YEAR;
OPTION 2: PAY NO MAINTENANCE WHATSOEVER FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AND CONTINUE TO USE YOUR UNIT OR RENT IT YOURSELF AND KEEP ALL OF THE RENTAL INCOME, YOUR CHOICE; or
OPTION 3: PAY THE GURANTEED 20% REDUCED MAINTENANCE FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AND RECEIVE THE SAME BUY-OUT PRICE AS OPTION #1 ABOVE FOR YOUR UNIT AT THE END OF THE FIVE YEAR PERIOD AND RECEIVE A PORTION OF THE PROFITS CONTINGENT UPON THE SALES PRICE OF GURNEY'S INN AT THAT TIME.
THE ABOVE OPTIONS ARE REAL. THEY ARE ENTIRELY YOUR CHOICE. NO HOCUS-POCUS.
I have been in the “belly of the beast” as your Gurney's Class A director for nearly four years. For over three years we have been battling in court to expose and seek vindication, retribution and compensation for what has been done to OUR Gurney's.
Notwithstanding this:
-Gurney's has deteriorated, physically and fiscally;
-our yearly maintenance has continued to go up in cataclysmic amounts;
-special assessments are looming;
-timeshare owners continue to abandon their units;
-no efforts have been made to resell surrendered timeshare units; and
-as maintenance/assessments continue to grow, more and more timeshare owners will surrender, placing an ever increasing burden on those who remain.
Folks, time for a reality check:
FACT: Every Gurney's timeshare owner has his/her “breaking point”in maintenance/assessments beyond which they can no longer justify their ever-escalating financial commitment to Gurney's. 5700 timeshare units were sold since Gurney's went co-op in 1982. Today, there are about 1800 of us remaining... two-thirds reached their “breaking point”.
FACT: The hemorrhaging of Gurney's timeshare owners will not cease because Gurney's is not being managed for the benefit of the timeshare owners, but rather for the benefit of the Monte-Cooper families and the Monte-Cooper Trust. They want the timeshare owners gone. They want your units back in their hands, to do with as they see fit for their own benefit.
FACT: If we do not get rid of the present board/management, they will get rid of us, and soon. In their eyes, we, the timeshare owners, are merely an impediment to their desire to sell Gurney's for a second time solely for their benefit.
FACT: Once you, as a Gurney's timeshare owner, hit your “breaking-point”, you will find yourself kicked to the curb in Montauk, possibly even still owing back maintenance/assessments, for which they will come after you (as they have already demonstrated).
FACT: You will have received nothing for your 31 years of loyalty as a Gurney's timeshare owner, just like our fallen fellow Gurney's timeshare owners.
Remember that old proverb: “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. It means that it is better to have something that is certain than take a risk to get more, where you might lose everything. This proverb points out that by passing up a sure thing for a more promising possibility, you also run the risk of losing both the sure thing and the promising possibility.
In plain English, litigation is a crap shoot. Hopefully we would win somethings (or everything), but perhaps we would lose somethings (or everything). In the meantime, we will continue to be bled dry to pay for their lawyers for their defense of, in my opinion, the indefensible.
In a crap shoot, I want to be the one who rolls my own dice. I want to control the remainder of my Gurney's journey. I want the same for you. I want you to make your own choice. While I believe this is the safest and best choice we have at present, the final decision will be yours alone.
Whatever the future of Gurney's may bring, it is my goal to make certain it is an equitable one for us. The scales have been intentionally tipped against Gurney's timeshare owners for far too long. We have had NO options, other than silent servitude to the whims of the powers-that-be who have controlled Gurney's for the past 31 years.
.
Once again, the above options are real. No hocus-pocus.
You will be hearing specific details and actual dollar amounts as they pertain to you shortly.
Please believe I have negotiated hard for you to bring this offer to fruition. I think this is a way to make the majority of the Gurney's remaining timeshare owners happy. We are no longer helpless and hopeless. I hope you will agree.
Respectfully submitted for your consideration,
Linda Benjamin
Your Gurney's Inn Class A Director
Re: Your Gurney's: A Bird In The Hand...
Please answer true or false to the following statements:
As a Gurney's timeshare owner, I know all of Gurney's business decisions are predicated upon:
(i) Gurney's mission to ensure a flourishing, financially stable cooperative;
(ii) great concern for my interests as a Class A shareholder;
(iii) transparency, integrity, fairness and honesty;
(iv) the equal treatment of all shareholders, whether Class A or Class B.
How many of us can say “true” to any of those statements?
Sadly, I think we all know the answer.
BUT, WHAT IF:
THE MONTE-COOPER FAMILY, THEIR MORTGAGE AND THEIR CONTROL OVER GURNEY'S WERE GONE!
MAINTENANCE FEES WERE CUT BY 20% , FROM THE PRESENT $18.88 PER SHARE TO $15.10 PER SHARE!
THIS REDUCED MAINTENANCE IS GUARANTEED NOT TO INCREASE FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS!
THERE IS A GUARANTEE OF NO SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS!
THE NEW GURNEY'S IS OPERATED ON A TRANSPARENT BASIS, FULL DISCLOSURE, NO HIDDEN AGENDAS, NO SECRET AGREEMENTS, NO PREFERENTIAL TREATMENTS OF ONE CLASS OF SHAREHOLDERS OVER ANOTHER!
WHAT IF, in addition to the foregoing, YOU COULD ALSO CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING THREE OPTIONS:
OPTION 1: PAY THE GUARANTEED 20% REDUCED MAINTENANCE FOR 2013 AND RECEIVE A BUY-OUT PRICE WELL ABOVE PRESENT MARKET VALUE FOR YOUR UNIT AT THE END OF THIS YEAR;
OPTION 2: PAY NO MAINTENANCE WHATSOEVER FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AND CONTINUE TO USE YOUR UNIT OR RENT IT YOURSELF AND KEEP ALL OF THE RENTAL INCOME, YOUR CHOICE; or
OPTION 3: PAY THE GURANTEED 20% REDUCED MAINTENANCE FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AND RECEIVE THE SAME BUY-OUT PRICE AS OPTION #1 ABOVE FOR YOUR UNIT AT THE END OF THE FIVE YEAR PERIOD AND RECEIVE A PORTION OF THE PROFITS CONTINGENT UPON THE SALES PRICE OF GURNEY'S INN AT THAT TIME.
THE ABOVE OPTIONS ARE REAL. THEY ARE ENTIRELY YOUR CHOICE. NO HOCUS-POCUS.
I have been in the “belly of the beast” as your Gurney's Class A director for nearly four years. For over three years we have been battling in court to expose and seek vindication, retribution and compensation for what has been done to OUR Gurney's.
Notwithstanding this:
-Gurney's has deteriorated, physically and fiscally;
-our yearly maintenance has continued to go up in cataclysmic amounts;
-special assessments are looming;
-timeshare owners continue to abandon their units;
-no efforts have been made to resell surrendered timeshare units; and
-as maintenance/assessments continue to grow, more and more timeshare owners will surrender, placing an ever increasing burden on those who remain.
Folks, time for a reality check:
FACT: Every Gurney's timeshare owner has his/her “breaking point”in maintenance/assessments beyond which they can no longer justify their ever-escalating financial commitment to Gurney's. 5700 timeshare units were sold since Gurney's went co-op in 1982. Today, there are about 1800 of us remaining... two-thirds reached their “breaking point”.
FACT: The hemorrhaging of Gurney's timeshare owners will not cease because Gurney's is not being managed for the benefit of the timeshare owners, but rather for the benefit of the Monte-Cooper families and the Monte-Cooper Trust. They want the timeshare owners gone. They want your units back in their hands, to do with as they see fit for their own benefit.
FACT: If we do not get rid of the present board/management, they will get rid of us, and soon. In their eyes, we, the timeshare owners, are merely an impediment to their desire to sell Gurney's for a second time solely for their benefit.
FACT: Once you, as a Gurney's timeshare owner, hit your “breaking-point”, you will find yourself kicked to the curb in Montauk, possibly even still owing back maintenance/assessments, for which they will come after you (as they have already demonstrated).
FACT: You will have received nothing for your 31 years of loyalty as a Gurney's timeshare owner, just like our fallen fellow Gurney's timeshare owners.
Remember that old proverb: “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. It means that it is better to have something that is certain than take a risk to get more, where you might lose everything. This proverb points out that by passing up a sure thing for a more promising possibility, you also run the risk of losing both the sure thing and the promising possibility.
In plain English, litigation is a crap shoot. Hopefully we would win somethings (or everything), but perhaps we would lose somethings (or everything). In the meantime, we will continue to be bled dry to pay for their lawyers for their defense of, in my opinion, the indefensible.
In a crap shoot, I want to be the one who rolls my own dice. I want to control the remainder of my Gurney's journey. I want the same for you. I want you to make your own choice. While I believe this is the safest and best choice we have at present, the final decision will be yours alone.
Whatever the future of Gurney's may bring, it is my goal to make certain it is an equitable one for us. The scales have been intentionally tipped against Gurney's timeshare owners for far too long. We have had NO options, other than silent servitude to the whims of the powers-that-be who have controlled Gurney's for the past 31 years.
.
Once again, the above options are real. No hocus-pocus.
You will be hearing specific details and actual dollar amounts as they pertain to you shortly.
Please believe I have negotiated hard for you to bring this offer to fruition. I think this is a way to make the majority of the Gurney's remaining timeshare owners happy. We are no longer helpless and hopeless. I hope you will agree.
Respectfully submitted for your consideration,
Linda Benjamin
Your Gurney's Inn Class A Director
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