Cole v. Westgate Resorts, LTD

CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedAugust 24, 2025
Docket6:24-cv-01852
StatusUnknown

This text of Cole v. Westgate Resorts, LTD (Cole v. Westgate Resorts, LTD) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cole v. Westgate Resorts, LTD, (M.D. Fla. 2025).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA ORLANDO DIVISION

AMY COLE and ROBERT A. PELLETIER, JR.,

Plaintiffs,

v. Case No.: 6:24-cv-01852-PGB-LHP

WESTGATE RESORTS, LTD.,

Defendant. ________________________/

ORDER

This cause comes before the Court on Defendant Westgate Resorts, LTD.’s (“Defendant”) Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint. (Doc. 41 (the “Motion”)). Plaintiffs Amy Cole and Robert A. Pelletier, Jr. (collectively, the “Plaintiffs”) responded in opposition (Doc. 47), and Defendant replied thereto (Doc. 61).1 Upon consideration, the Motion is due to be granted. I. BACKGROUND2 This lawsuit arises from Plaintiffs’ execution of a contract with Defendant to purchase a Westgate timeshare. (See Doc. 1-1 (the “Complaint”)). Defendant is a Florida-based entity that develops and sells timeshare interests across various resort properties. (See id. ¶¶ 2–3, 12–13). Plaintiffs purchased one of Defendant’s

1 The Court granted Defendant leave to file a reply. (See Docs. 54, 55).

2 This account of the facts comes from Plaintiffs’ Complaint. (Doc. 1-1). The Court accepts well- pled factual allegations therein as true when considering motions to dismiss. See Williams v. Bd. of Regents, 477 F.3d 1282, 1291 (11th Cir. 2007). timeshares on June 4, 2018, while on vacation in Gatlinburg, Tennessee at Defendant’s Smoky Mountain Resort (the “Resort”). (Id. ¶ 14). According to the Complaint, Defendant regularly sells its timeshares

“through sales presentations using inducements and high-pressure sales tactics” to “deceive prospective purchasers into buying timeshare vacation programs.” (Id. ¶ 12). Defendant hosted one of these sales presentations at the Resort, marketing it to Plaintiffs as a short presentation regarding timeshares. (Id. ¶¶ 14–15). Plaintiffs allege that the presentation lasted approximately seven hours and

involved at least five staff members (hereinafter, the “staff”) who attempted to convince Plaintiffs to buy a timeshare. (Id. ¶¶ 16, 31–32). Plaintiffs allege Defendant’s staff made misleading statements about the value, benefits, and terms of the timeshare purchase. (Id. ¶¶ 17a–17e, 76a–76d). At the end of the presentation, Defendant’s staff presented a digital contract for the purchase of a timeshare. (Id. ¶¶ 31–32). Plaintiffs signed the contract (Doc.

41-1 (“Purchase Agreement”)) via electronic signatures on a tablet. (Id. ¶ 25). Plaintiffs claim the sales team controlled the tablets during the signing process, made “short general categor[ical] statements” regarding the content of each section of the Purchase Agreement, and then presented the tablet to Plaintiffs for them to sign. (Id. ¶¶ 14–15, 30).

The execution of the Purchase Agreement lasted approximately fifteen minutes. (Id. ¶ 26). During this execution, Plaintiffs allege that Defendant’s staff concealed key terms and did not allow Plaintiffs to review any documents they were signing. (Id. ¶¶ 27–28, 36–41). Plaintiffs present that Defendant’s staff also failed to explain the relevant terms of the Purchase Agreement, including the “successor liability clause,” an “arbitration clause,” a “mitigation limitation clause,” and the

choice of law and venue provisions. (Id. ¶¶ 29, 195). Additionally, Plaintiffs allege that Defendant’s staff failed to provide required disclosures and documentation. (Id. ¶¶ 18–22, 33–35). Specifically, Plaintiffs allege that Defendant’s staff failed to disclose whether they held valid real estate licenses and failed to provide disclosure forms. (Id. ¶¶ 33–34, 157–60). Plaintiffs also allege that Defendant’s staff failed to

provide a Public Offering Statement (“POS”), as required under the Florida Vacation Plan and Timesharing Act (the “Florida Timeshare Act”). (Id. ¶ 80). Plaintiffs allege Defendant’s staff did not explain the implications of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”). (Id. ¶ 130). Lastly, Plaintiffs allege Defendant’s staff failed to provide closing disclosures, pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”). (Id. ¶¶ 134–

135, 141). Five years after the purchase, in June of 2023, Plaintiffs consulted the Timeshare Law Firm. (Doc. 47, p. 6). Plaintiffs allege this consultation is when they first became aware of their claims against Defendant. (Id. at pp. 6–7, 9). Accordingly, Plaintiffs initiated this action against Defendant in the Ninth Judicial

Circuit Court of Florida, in and for Orange County, Florida on September 17, 2024. (Doc. 1-1). Defendant then removed the action to this Court on October 14, 2024. (Doc. 1). Plaintiffs plead thirteen counts: negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation (Counts I and II); negligent and fraudulent concealment of public offering statement (Counts III and IV); negligent and fraudulent concealment of successor

liability (Counts V and VI); statutory violations of RESPA (Count VII) and Dodd- Frank (Count VIII); negligent misrepresentation and “intentionally negligent” concealment of licensure (Count IX); violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (“FDUTPA”) (Count X); concealment of the arbitration clause and mitigation limitation clauses (Count XI); violations of the Florida Timeshare

Act (Count XII); and a claim for attorneys’ fees and punitive damages (Count XIII). (See generally Doc. 1-1). Defendant now moves to dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint. (Doc. 41). Plaintiffs responded in opposition, Defendant replied, and the matter is thus ripe for review. (Docs. 47, 61). II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” FED. R. CIV. P. 8(a)(2). Thus, to survive a motion to dismiss made pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), the complaint “must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009)

(quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). A claim is plausible on its face when the plaintiff “pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. The court must view the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and must resolve any doubts as to the sufficiency of the complaint in the plaintiff’s favor. Hunnings v. Texaco, Inc., 29 F.3d 1480, 1484

(11th Cir. 1994) (per curiam). However, though a complaint need not contain detailed factual allegations, pleading mere legal conclusions, or “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action,” is not enough to satisfy the plausibility standard. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. “While legal conclusions can provide the framework of a complaint, they must be supported by factual

allegations,” and the court is “not bound to accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679; Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265, 286 (1986). In sum, the court must: reject conclusory allegations, bald legal assertions, and formulaic recitations of the elements of a claim; accept well-pled factual allegations as true; and view well-pled allegations in the light most favorable to the

plaintiff. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678–79. III.

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Cole v. Westgate Resorts, LTD, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cole-v-westgate-resorts-ltd-flmd-2025.