Litigation
The following is a description of certain material legal proceedings pending against the Company or its subsidiaries or which were pending during the year ended December 31, 2022:
On June 28, 2018, Melissa S. Landon, Edward P. Landon, Shane Auxier and Mu Hpare, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a purported class action lawsuit against Bluegreen and its wholly owned subsidiary Bluegreen Vacations Unlimited, Inc. (“BVU”) asserting claims for alleged violations of the Wisconsin Timeshare Act, Wisconsin law prohibiting illegal referral selling, and Wisconsin law prohibiting illegal attorney’s fee provisions. Plaintiffs sought certification of a class consisting of all persons who, in Wisconsin, purchased from Bluegreen one or more VOIs within six years prior to the filing of this lawsuit. Plaintiffs sought statutory damages, attorneys’ fees and injunctive relief. Bluegreen moved to dismiss the case, and on November 27, 2019, the Court issued a ruling granting the motion in part. Plaintiffs moved for class certification, and on November 5, 2021, the Court entered an order denying Plaintiff’s Motion. During June 2022, the parties settled the litigation and the lawsuit has been dismissed with prejudice.
On January 7, 2019, Shehan Wijesinha filed a purported class action lawsuit alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the “TCPA”). It is alleged that BVU called plaintiff’s cell phone for telemarketing purposes using an automated dialing system, and that plaintiff did not give BVU his express written consent to do so. Plaintiffs seek certification of a class comprised of other persons in the United States who received similar calls from or on behalf of BVU without the person’s consent. Plaintiff seeks monetary damages, attorneys’ fees and injunctive relief. Bluegreen believes the lawsuit is without merit and intends to vigorously defend the action. On July 15, 2019, the court entered an order staying this case pending a ruling from the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) clarifying the definition of an automatic telephone dialing system under the TCPA and the decision of the Eleventh Circuit in a separate action brought against a VOI company by a plaintiff alleging violations of the TCPA. On January 7, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit issued a ruling consistent with BVU’s position, and on June 26, 2020, the FCC also issued a favorable ruling. The case was stayed pending the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid. On April 1, 2021, the Supreme Court issued a decision in the Facebook case which was favorable to Bluegreen’s position that an automatic telephone dialing system was not used in this case. Bluegreen believes the ruling disposes of the plaintiff’s claim and filed a Notice of Supplemental Authority advising the court of the ruling.
On July 18, 2019, Eddie Boyd, and Connie Boyd, Shaundre and Kimberly Laskey, and others similarly situated filed an action alleging that BVU and co-defendants violated the Missouri Merchandise Practices Act for allegedly making false statements and misrepresentations with respect to the sale of VOIs. Plaintiffs’ claims include a purported class action allegation that BVU’s charging of an administrative processing fee constitutes the unauthorized practice of law, and also that Bluegreen and its outside counsel engaged in abuse of process by filing a lawsuit against plaintiffs’ counsel (The Montgomery Law Firm). Plaintiffs seek monetary damages, attorneys’ fees and injunctive relief. On August 31, 2020, the court certified a class regarding the unauthorized practice of law claim, but dismissed the claims regarding abuse of process. On January 11, 2021, the Court issued an order that the class members are not entitled to rescission of their contracts because they failed to plead fraud in the inducement. Plaintiffs filed a third amended petition to add Resort Title Agency, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Bluegreen) as a defendant. On July 29, 2022, Resort Title Agency, Inc. removed the case to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, where the case is currently pending. Bluegreen believes the lawsuit is without merit and is vigorously defending the action.
On July 14, 2020, Kenneth Johansen, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a purported class action against BVU for alleged violations of the TCPA. Specifically, the named plaintiff alleges that he received numerous telemarketing calls from BVU while he was on the National Do Not Call Registry. Bluegreen filed a motion to dismiss, and plaintiff in response filed an amended complaint on September 18, 2020. On February 18, 2021, plaintiff filed a motion for class certification seeking to certify a class of thousands of individual proposed class members. On April 15, 2021, a court-ordered mediation was conducted at which time
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