Wyndham Resorts / Worldmark Class Action Lawsuit

Many consumers are reporting in 2018 that they believe they have been scammed into purchasing a Wyndham Resorts timeshare, and may even be considering a Wyndham class action lawsuit. One consumer from Louisiana says that she and her husband enter a contract for a Wyndham timeshare, which they could never use and couldn’t get out of the contract. She says:

There are never rooms available. I have literally tried to book through Club Wyndham and told no availability and gone through Expedia and able to book. NOT WORTH THE MONEY! I was told by the [sales representative] AND her manager when we bought that we could cancel at any time because Wyndham realized that being trapped in a contract was a pain point for time-share buyers and they wanted to eliminate that stigma. Guess what I was told when I tried to cancel. Contract says you can’t.

Another consumer from Missouri says that you pay Wyndham for flexibility, but have to book your vacation years in advance:

Wyndham will lie and cheat to get you to buy a timeshare. They will promise things that are a lie, and by the time you realize it, it is too late. We tried to use it, and unless you know a year in advance you can’t book anywhere.

To inquire about a Wyndham class action lawsuit, contact one of our timeshare-fraud attorneys.

Our previous Wyndham timeshare class action lawsuit

In 2010, we helped settle a class action lawsuit against Wyndham over its timeshare pitching practices. The terms and conditions of the Settlement Agreement and Release were filed with Court, which approved the settlement on August 5, 2010. The settlement was designed to lower credit values at certain resorts, cancel certain Vacation Credits held by Wyndham as unsold developer credits, remove underutilized units from the WorldMark system, and make other changes to the WorldMark time-share plan that may require consent of the WorldMark Board and approval from various regulatory authorities. Wyndham has notified regulatory authorities of the settlement, and will periodically report to Class Counsel regarding the status of efforts to obtain regulatory approval.

Questions about the Worldmark Class Action Settlement?

If you would like more information, please read the Frequently Asked Questions below. If you have additional questions which are not answered below, you may contact an attorney for more information.

Wyndham Resorts and WorldMark Class Action Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why did I receive a Notice of Pendency of Class Action Settlement?

2. What is the lawsuit and settlement about?

3. How does the settlement benefit WorldMark members?

4. Who represents the class?

5. How can I tell the Court what I think about the settlement?

6. How can I exclude myself from the class?

7. When and where will the Court hold a hearing on the fairness of the settlement?

8. Do I have to attend the fairness hearing? Can I speak at the fairness hearing?

9. What happens if I do nothing at all?

10. Where can I get more information?

1. Why did I receive a Notice of Pendency of Class Action Settlement?

The Notice was sent to you because you are a WorldMark member. The Notice is to inform you that there has been an agreement to settle a lawsuit.

The proposed settlement described in the Notice provides certain benefits that will be made available to WorldMark members if the settlement receives court approval. The Notice also contains important information about your options and legal rights.

2. What is the lawsuit and settlement about?

This is a class action lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco, California. The Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are five WorldMark members, who filed suit on behalf of the WorldMark membership. Plaintiffs argued, among other things, that Wyndham was violating the WorldMark Governing Documents with respect to: the pricing of certain new resorts; the implementation of the FunTime portion of the Wyndham TravelShare program and its impact on WorldMark’s “first-come, first-served” reservation system; the number of weeks of usage that Wyndham was selling at each new resort; and Wyndham’s use of the WorldMark resort properties for its own marketing and sales purposes.

The lawsuit was first filed in April 2007. In 2010, after more than three years of litigation, the parties agreed to resolve the litigation before trial with a proposed settlement.

Wyndham has denied all allegations of wrongdoing. Wyndham has agreed to settle the lawsuit to avoid the cost, delay and risk of continued litigation.

Plaintiffs have agreed to the settlement given the benefits it will provide to WorldMark and WorldMark members, as weighed against the cost, delay and risk of continued litigation.

3. How does the settlement benefit WorldMark members?

The Notice contains many of the details of the proposed settlement, which must be approved by the court.  While it may be long, the court has required that the notice contain all of the details that are listed there.  For more information regarding the Wyndham Class Action Lawsuit please read the Class Action Summary Notice.

In summary, if approved by the court, the settlement will benefit WorldMark and its members by, among other things:

• Reducing credit values at specified WorldMark resorts. The affected resorts and reduced credits values are listed in the Class Action Summary Notice.These reductions also will result in the cancelation of 22 million vacation credits from Wyndham’s inventory of developer credits, which means that the credits will no longer be available for sale to the public or used by Wyndham in exercising a membership vote.
• Making 21 additional lower-credit value Dolphin’s Cove resort units available in the Anaheim, California area.
• Removing from the WorldMark system certain underutilized units that, based on occupancy data, WorldMark members do not wish to rent the majority of the time . The affected resorts and unit types being removed are listed in the Class Action Summary Notice. Wyndham will assume the maintenance costs associated with removed units. The credit values associated with these resort units will be canceled and taken out of Wyndham’s inventory of developer credits, which means they will no longer be available for sale to the public or used by Wyndham in exercising a membership vote.
• Eliminating the FunTime element of Wyndham’s TravelShare program in new TravelShare memberships. Existing TravelShare memberships with FunTime will not be affected by the settlement.
• Cancelling up to 274.7 million total vacation credits now held by Wyndham as unsold developer credits. The canceled credits will no longer be available for sale to the public or used by Wyndham in exercising a membership vote.
• Limiting Wyndham’s use of WorldMark resorts for its own marketing and sales purposes. If approved, the settlement will prohibit Wyndham from booking Party Weekends at resorts during peak demand periods.
• Maintaining Election Website. If the settlement is approved, Wyndham will work cooperatively with WorldMark to establish and maintain an election website for owners to access and post and review election-related comments.

The settlement does not impact your membership rights, your ability to make reservations, or your rights under the WorldMark Governing Documents in any way.

4. Who represents the class?

The court appointed the five Plaintiffs who have been pursuing this lawsuit, Clarke and Rebecca Wixon, Norman and Barbara Wixon, and Kandice Scattolon, as serve as class representatives. The Gibbs Law Group law firm was appointed by the court to serve as legal counsel for the class.

Class counsel will ask the court to approve an incentive payment for each of the class representatives to compensate them for the work they have done on behalf of the class, including responding to discovery, having their depositions taken, and attending court hearings. Class counsel also will ask the court to approve an award of attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of court costs and legal expenses. Under the proposed settlement, if approved, the requested incentive payments, attorneys’ fee award and cost and expense reimbursement will be paid by Wyndham separately and without reducing the benefits to the class.

5. How can I tell the Court what I think about the settlement?

If you do not exclude yourself from the settlement, you can comment in support of or in opposition to the settlement, Class counsel’s requested award for attorneys’ fees and expenses, or the requested awards for the five class representatives. Your comments or objections must be submitted in writing. The deadline to submit your comments or objections is July 8, 2011. Please read the Class Action Summary Notice for information about the procedures you must follow to comment on or object to the settlement.

6. How can I exclude myself from the class?

You have the option to exclude yourself from the settlement and the class if you wish to do so. If you exclude yourself, you will not be bound by the final judgment releasing class members’ legal claims and you keep any right you may have to sue or continue to sue Wyndham for the claims alleged in this lawsuit. The deadline to request exclusion is July 8, 2011. Please read the Class Action Summary Notice for information about the procedure you must follow to comment on or object to the settlement.

7. When and where will the Court hold a hearing on the fairness of the settlement?

A fairness hearing will be held at 9:00 a.m. on August 5, 2011 before the Honorable Jeffrey S. White in his courtroom at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, located at 450 Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco, California. At the hearing, the court will consider any comments, objections and argument concerning the fairness of the proposed settlement, the incentive payments requested for the class representatives and the amount of attorneys’ fees and reimbursed expenses requested by Class Counsel. Please read the Class Action Summary Notice for additional details about the hearing.

8. Do I have to attend the fairness hearing? Can I speak at the fairness hearing?

You do not have to attend this hearing unless you wish to speak to Judge White. You do not need to attend to remain a class member or obtain the benefits of the proposed settlement. You do not need to attend the hearing to have your written comments or objections considered by Judge White. You do not need to attend the hearing to exclude yourself.

You may attend the hearing if you wish. If you intend to attend the hearing and speak to Judge White, you MUST follow the procedures for appearing contained in the Class Action Summary Notice.

9. What happens if I do nothing at all?

If you are a class member, and the settlement is approved, you will receive the benefits of the settlement even if you take no action. You will be bound by the final judgment releasing class members’ legal claims, which is described in the Class Action Summary Notice.

10. Where can I get more information?

For more detailed information, you may wish to review the Class Action Settlement Agreement.

The Settlement Agreement and all other pleadings and papers filed in the lawsuit are available for inspection and copying during regular business hours at the office of the Clerk of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, located at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, California.

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