Pelican Resort went bankrupt in 1996, after which approximately 1,200 timeshare owners, united in the Tenants Association Pelican Resort Club (TAPRC), bought the resort and continued its operations. To this end, two N.V.s were established: Pelican Resort Club, The Owner Company PRCOC to manage the real estate, and PRCMC to manage activities.

 

A management agreement was closed with Royal Resorts (RR) Management Company Ltd. in 1997 to manage the resort's daily operations. Quantum Investment Trust Ltd. (QIT) in Belize provided the resort with a loan to facilitate expansion with the adjacent Pelican Marina Residences. When PRCOC was no longer able to meet its financial obligations, QIT made use of its right to auction the resort on December 16, 2010, which it then procured.

 

One day after the sale, three new companies were established: Simpson Bay Resort Holding Company B.V. (SBRHC), SBRMC and SBROC. The resort's operations landed in the hands of SBRMC, in cooperation with Royal Resorts Pelican Resort Club and Pelican Marina Residences. SBRMC is managed by Royal Resorts.

 

Plaintiffs contest that contrary as was stated by notary Parisius, buyer QIT had not paid the purchase price of US $30.5 million and had also not complied with the obligations derived from the general and special conditions of the auction, which they claim should, therefore, be declared invalid. This would also render invalid the transfer of ownership of Pelican Resort to QIT and SBROC.

 

Claimants state the Court should be dealing with this case expeditiously because SBROC is engaged in efforts to sell the properties that were acquired by auction.

 

Litigants claim that they, together with individual timeshare owners and other parties, were duped by the sale of Pelican Resort against half of its actual value.

 

They also state that after the auction the former owner of Pelican Resort could no longer meet its obligations towards financiers, personnel, suppliers, timeshare owners and others.

 

They claim that the sale of the resort was illegitimate because the termination of the loan by QIT was "unreasonable and unfair" and had brought QIT and SBROC in a better position.

 

"The latter have enriched themselves at the expense of Pelican and their creditors. The legal obligations that were violated serve to safeguard the rights of the executed party and third parties in case of a public auction by the mortgage holder," litigants stated in their request to the Court for an injunction.

 

The proceeds of the auction were low and equal to the outstanding debt on the construction cost of the new building of the Pelican Resort. This was the case, litigants claim, because the public auction was hardly advertised and only in St. Maarten newspapers, which had led to the absence of possible interested parties from abroad. There was, however, only one interested party at the auction: QIT, which purchased the entire resort against payment of the still existing debt on the new property.

 

Litigants state that Pelican had tried everything to persuade QIT to refrain from an auction, including efforts to increase revenues. This proved all to be in vain, because the bankruptcy of Pelican Resort was in fact a means to bring the resort in the hands of Richard Sutton, who is also the beneficial owner of both QIT and Royal, they said.

 

The two individual timeshare owners who joined the litigation were participants in the PCIP Investors programme, through which Pelican Resort Owner had borrowed money to renovate the resort. Both had lent the resort $100,000, but were never paid back.

 

(The Daily Herald)

 

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