September 20, 2003 - A class action lawsuit that could be worth millions of dollars has been filed against the parent company of Los Abrigados Resort and Spa in Sedona.

The class action was filed on behalf of Kenneth Reed of Calgary, Alberta, and George Cates of Oro Valley by attorneys Andrew Friedman of Phoenix, James Ledbetter of Cottonwood and Janine Pollack and Daniel Altman of New York City.

The lawsuit alleges "a pattern of deception" by ILX Resorts Inc., which operates and number of timeshare resorts throughout the west including Los Abrigados, that cost Reed and Cates and "thousands" of other timeshare members millions of dollars.

Nancy Stone, president of ILX Resorts Inc., declined to comment Friday, saying that her company has not seen the suit yet.

The lawsuit is seeking compensatory damages "in the amount to be proven at trail," but also said damages weren't expected to exceed $75,000 per claim. However, the lawsuit also alleges that those joining the class action could number in the thousands.

The suit claims that ILX continued to sell timeshares and memberships to its Premiere Vacation Club even after all 9,100 rooms at Los Abrigados were booked.

It also alleges that those people who invested in the timeshare can't sell the timeshares back without losing a substantial amount of money and can't actually stay at the resort because it is consistently overbooked.

The lawsuit claims that the plaintiffs would call to reserve a week at the timeshare and were told on numerous occasions that nothing was available.

Timeshare holders are usually entitled to one week per year at Los Abrigados. People who have invested in the Premiere Vacation Club are entitled to one week per year at one of the numerous resorts operated by ILX.

If a person doesn't use the their week, they lose those privileges for a year.

The suit goes on to claim that those who were notable to use their week, despite trying to do so, were charged up to $550 for maintenance fees at the resort.

The lawsuit alleges that while ILX claims that the maintenance fees are to go strictly for the upkeep of the property, at least 10 percent of the income from those fees were used to other purposes such as the restaurant and other dining facilities as well as conference rooms.

The suit alleges that the maintenance fees generated at least $4.5 million in revenue.

The lawsuit also alleges that Los Abrigados booked rooms to the general public without first fulfilling what was owed to the timeshare owners and Premiere investors.

The suit also alleges that ILX showed rooms that were larger and more comfortable that those that Premiere investors and time share owners qualified for and even asked those owners to "forgo their right to stay at Los Abrigados" in favor of staying at an RCI resort which has a partnership with ILX.

The lawsuit was filed in Coconino County Superior Court on Sept. 17, 2003.

-- By Jeff Tucker 

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