Taylor v. Holiday Isle, LLC

561 F. Supp. 2d 1269, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42852, 2008 WL 2222945
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Alabama
DecidedMay 30, 2008
DocketCivil Action 07-0771-WS-M
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 561 F. Supp. 2d 1269 (Taylor v. Holiday Isle, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Taylor v. Holiday Isle, LLC, 561 F. Supp. 2d 1269, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42852, 2008 WL 2222945 (S.D. Ala. 2008).

Opinion

ORDER

WILLIAM H. STEELE, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on the Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (doc. 9) filed by defendant Holiday Isle, LLC. The Motion has been briefed and is ripe for disposition at this time. 1

I. Relevant Background.

The relevant underlying facts are straightforward and undisputed. Plaintiffs Celestine F. Taylor, Richard Murray, III, John and Lisa Murray, Arthur Fitzner, and John and Tracy Gardner all entered into agreements with defendant Holiday Isle, LLC to purchase enumerated condominium units of a development being constructed by Holiday Isle in Mobile County, Alabama. Uncontroverted record facts reflect that each plaintiff signed Pre-Con-struction Purchase and Escrow Agreements (the “Agreements”) with Holiday Isle between February 22, 2005 and March 3, 2005. 2 Each plaintiff paid a substantial earnest money deposit or arranged for delivery of a standby letter of credit to Holiday Isle, to be held by an escrow agent pending closing.

On June 5, 2007, plaintiffs’ counsel transmitted a letter to Holiday Isle on behalf of all plaintiffs in this case purporting to exercise their right to rescind the Agreements pursuant to the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1701 et seq. (“ILSFDA”). Among other things, the June 5 letter asserted that Holiday Isle had violated 15 U.S.C. § 1703, which requires a property report to be provided to the purchaser in advance of that purchaser executing the sales agreement, and which further requires certain contractual language that was omitted by Holiday Isle. On that basis, the June 5 letter stated, “please be advised that [plaintiffs] hereby rescind the Contracts pursuant to ILSFDA [and] demand a return of their earnest money or a release of their letters of credit.” (Doc. 9, Exh. F.) When Holiday Isle declined to honor this request, plaintiffs filed suit in this District Court on October 30, 2007.

In their Complaint for Declaratory Judgment and Damages (doc. 1), plaintiffs delineate four causes of action, including a claim under the ILSFDA and pendent state-law claims for breach of contract, conversion and declaratory judgment. The sole cause of action at issue for purposes of the Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is Count One, in which plaintiffs *1271 allege, inter alia, that they “are entitled to and have rescinded the Contracts pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1703(c) and (d).” (Complaint, ¶53.) 3 The finite, discrete issue presented by Holiday Isle’s Motion for Summary Judgment is whether plaintiffs’ rescission claim is timely. Holiday Isle maintains that plaintiffs missed the two-year deadline for rescinding the Agreements, and that Count One is therefore properly dismissed. Plaintiffs oppose the Motion on the grounds that Count One is governed by a three-year statute of limitations, not the two-year period for rescission established by § 1703(c). 4

II. Analysis.

The lone legal issue presented by Holiday Isle’s Rule 56 Motion concerns the meaning of and interplay between two distinct provisions of the ILSFDA, to-wit: 15 U.S.C. §§ 1703(c) and 1711(b). 5 Section 1703 provides that if a property report is required and has not been provided to the purchaser in advance of execution of the purchase agreement, “such contract or agreement may be revoked at the option of the purchaser or lessee within two years from the date of such signing, and such contract or agreement shall clearly provide this right.” 15 U.S.C. § 1703(c) (emphasis added). By contrast, section 1711 provides that “[n]o action shall be maintained ... to enforce a right created under subsection (b), (c), (d), or (e) of section 1703 of this title unless brought within three years after the signing of the contract or lease.” 15 U.S.C. § 1711(b) (emphasis added).

As the Court understands it, Holiday Isle’s position is that rescission is an available remedy under the ILSFDA only if a plaintiff invokes such remedy within two years after he or she signs the purchase agreement. Here, of course, it is uncontested that plaintiffs did not exercise their right of rescission within the two-year window, as they signed their agreements in February or March 2005, but did not notify Holiday Isle of the rescission until June *1272 2007, approximately 27 months later. According to defendant, then, plaintiffs’ failure to rescind their contracts within the two-year period provided by § 1703(c) renders Count One time-barred. Plaintiffs’ interpretation of the ILSFDA is different. They assert that the three-year limitations period set forth in § 1711(b) preserves the timeliness of their rescission claims, inasmuch as there is no dispute that the Complaint was filed within three years after plaintiffs signed the Agreements. Plaintiffs further insist that Holiday Isle’s failure to include in the Agreements language apprising them of their statutory revocation rights nullifies the two-year period set forth in § 1703(c) and entitles them to the more lenient three-year period provided by § 1711(b).

Judging by the paucity of authority presented by the parties and the dearth of helpful case law brought to light by the undersigned’s own research, this legal question has not been definitively resolved by any published federal decision. 6 Nonetheless, after careful scrutiny of the statutory language, the limited interpretive guidance available, and the parties’ contentions, the Court concludes that defendant has the better argument. As an initial matter, the ILSFDA is quite clear that if a property report is required and is not provided to the purchaser in advance of execution of the purchase agreement, “such contract or agreement may be revoked at the option of the purchaser ... within two years from the date of such signing.” 15 U.S.C. § 1703(c). Simply stated, if plaintiffs wanted to rescind their purchase agreements with Holiday Isle because of the latter’s failure to furnish them with a property report before they signed those Agreements, they had two years in which to do so. Yet plaintiffs did not timely avail themselves of that right.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Ely v. Mobile Housing Board
13 F. Supp. 3d 1216 (S.D. Alabama, 2014)
Veneklase v. Bridgewater Condos, L.C.
670 F.3d 705 (Sixth Circuit, 2012)
Sharpe v. GLOBAL SECURITY INTERNATIONAL
766 F. Supp. 2d 1272 (S.D. Alabama, 2011)
Brokaw v. Weiser Security
780 F. Supp. 2d 1233 (S.D. Alabama, 2011)
Mastropietro v. Harbour Phase I Owners, LLC
39 So. 3d 528 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2010)
Venezia v. 12th & Division Properties, LLC
685 F. Supp. 2d 752 (M.D. Tennessee, 2010)
In Re Chiquita Brands Intern., Inc. Alien Tort
690 F. Supp. 2d 1296 (S.D. Florida, 2010)
Nahigian v. Juno Loudoun, LLC
684 F. Supp. 2d 731 (E.D. Virginia, 2010)
Odom v. Southeast Supply Header, LLC
675 F. Supp. 2d 1105 (S.D. Alabama, 2010)
Crc 1803, LLC v. North Carillon, LLC
26 So. 3d 18 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2009)
Abrams v. Ciba Specialty Chemicals Corp.
663 F. Supp. 2d 1220 (S.D. Alabama, 2009)
Pears v. Mobile County
645 F. Supp. 2d 1062 (S.D. Alabama, 2009)
Degirmenci v. Sapphire-Fort Lauderdale, LLLP
642 F. Supp. 2d 1344 (S.D. Florida, 2009)
Plaza Court, L.P. v. Baker-Chaput
17 So. 3d 720 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2009)
Taplett v. TRG Oasis (Tower Two), Ltd., L.P.
755 F. Supp. 2d 1197 (M.D. Florida, 2009)
Jankus v. Edge Investors, L.P.
619 F. Supp. 2d 1328 (S.D. Florida, 2009)
Murray v. Holiday Isle, LLC
620 F. Supp. 2d 1302 (S.D. Alabama, 2009)
Gentry v. Harborage Cottages-Stuart, LLLP
602 F. Supp. 2d 1239 (S.D. Florida, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
561 F. Supp. 2d 1269, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42852, 2008 WL 2222945, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/taylor-v-holiday-isle-llc-alsd-2008.