In my prior blog entry, I discussed the Tennessee Timeshare Act’s statutory prohibition on certain types of misrepresentations. The Act, though, takes this topic one step further. Not only is a sales agent prohibited from making certain misrepresentations, anyone involved in the sale of a timeshare is prohibited from making certain kinds of statements entirely. Specifically, Tenn. Code Ann. §66-32-132 lists several of these prohibitions. I want to focus on three, in particular, which are as follows: “No advertising for the offer or sale of timeshare intervals shall: (1) Contain any representation as to the availability of a resale program or rental program offered by or on behalf of the developer or its affiliates unless the resale program has been made a part of the offering and submitted to the commission; (2) Contain an offer or inducement to purchase which purports to be limited as to quantity or restricted as to time unless the numerical quantity and/or time applicable to the offer or inducement is clearly and conspicuously disclosed; (3) Contain any statement concerning the investment merit or profit potential of the time-share interval unless the commission has determined from evidence submitted on behalf of the developer that the representation is neither false nor misleading.”
The interesting thing about each of these prohibitions is that unless certain conditions are met, the prohibitions are absolute. So in other words, unless the proper submission has been made to the Tennessee Real Estate Commission, there should not be any discussion of a resale or rental program. Unless there are clear and conspicuous disclosures, there should not be any reference to a limited or restricted offer. And, unless the Tennessee Real Estate Commission has determined that a representation regarding investment is not false or misleading, there should not be any representations about investment merit or profit potential. These are pretty specific prohibitions, with conditions that are verifiable.
What happens if these provisions are violated? As I will be discussing in a future blog post, the Tennessee Timeshare Act provides specific remedies to a purchaser.
John O. Belcher is a founding member of Belcher Sykes Harrington, PLLC and routinely represents consumers in timeshare fraud cases. The information above is just a general summary and does not constitute legal advice. If you would like to discuss your particular timeshare transaction, don’t hesitate to contact Belcher Sykes Harrington, PLLC.
