Paul Tassin  |  April 13, 2016

Category: Consumer News

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

FantaSea timeshare class action lawsuitUPDATE: The fantaSea Resorts class action lawsuit was terminated in a summary judgement on behalf of the defendants on August 30, 2018. 


FantaSea Resorts violates multiple New Jersey consumer protection laws in the way it manipulates the sales of its resort timeshares, according to a new class action lawsuit.

The plaintiffs, Gaetano Tirri and married couple Kelly Taylor and Brian Kalmus, say that when they executed the deed of transfer to purchase their timeshares, FantaSea made them simultaneously execute a deed in lieu of foreclosure in favor of FantaSea. By doing so, plaintiffs say, FantaSea makes purchasers immediately give up the timeshare rights they just paid for.

Kalmus and Taylor claim that in December 2012 FantaSea induced them to upgrade their existing timeshare via manipulative sales tactics. They were allegedly told their existing timeshare in the LaSammana resort was “worthless,” even though they had just paid $5,295 for it the previous April. FantaSea told them they had missed an opportunity to upgrade that timeshare to a Flagship Resort property, but the company offered to make a “one-time exception” for them, according to the plaintiffs.

The couple says they agreed to the upgrade, at a cost of more than $15,000. They executed both the deed of transfer and the deed in lieu of foreclosure FantaSea required of them – transferring their just-purchased interest back to FantaSea. They then made payments on the mortgage until May 2015, when they claim FantaSea subsequently sent them to collections.

Tirri says he purchased his own timeshare from FantaSea in June 2013, also signing both a deed of transfer and a deed in lieu of foreclosure. When he defaulted on his mortgage payment sometime around November 2014, he says he received a notice from FantaSea threatening him with a lawsuit and a sheriff’s sale of the property. Tirri says the notice did not state the amount of money required to cure his default, whom to pay, or notice of the opportunity to cure.

All three plaintiffs note that FantaSea also required them to submit to an “Escrow Agreement” that allowed all their deposit money, closing costs, and mortgage payments to be held in escrow by FantaSea’s own in-house attorney.

The plaintiffs now allege these actions, and others, directed at the rest of the purported Class are violations of several New Jersey consumer protection statutes, namely the Consumer Fraud Act, the Truth in Consumer Contract, Warranty, and Notice Act, and the Fair Foreclosure Act.

The three plaintiffs are seeking to represent all persons whom FantaSea required to execute a deed in lieu of foreclosure at the same time they purchased a New Jersey timeshare from the defendants. They also want to represent a subclass of plaintiffs to whom the defendants sent an allegedly defective Notice of Intention to Foreclose.

Tirri, Kalmus and Taylor are seeking a damage award to cover their own losses plus triple damages, costs and attorneys’ fees available under New Jersey consumer protection laws.

The plaintiffs are represented by David J. DiSabato of DiSabato & Bouckenooghe LLC and by Andrew Meyer, Patrick Kennedy and Rick D. Kennedy of Finn Law Group, PA.

The FantaSea Fraudulent Timeshare Class Action Lawsuit is Tirri, et al. v. Flagship Resort Development Corp., et al., Case No. 3:16-CV-01771 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Camden Division.

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.


72 thoughts onFantaSea Class Action Says Timeshare Offers are Fraudulent

  1. A. W. says:

    My wife and I want out as well!!!
    Yes, sells tactics that make you want the thing only to fine out its not what you were told or sold.
    We have thousands of dollars tied up in flagship not to be able to use it when we want too.

    1. Alicia Chambers says:

      We go through the same thing

  2. Esther Wade-LeGrand says:

    We want out too!!

  3. Don Dixon says:

    We had the same thing with this company and we are 6000 from not paying and had deaths in the family and you can’t even get ahold of anyone to call you back they just say email this or get a recording this was such a rip off and we just want out
    My credit wasn’t good enough at the time and we were just married and they put it in my wife’s name and somehow I’m on it as well as the buyer
    Never used always was booked
    How do we join the class action lawsuitplease reach out if anyone can help

    1. Heather says:

      Has anyone responded to you about these? I am in same boat

    2. Anna & Larry Moser says:

      We have been trying to get out of our timeshare with them for quite a while. No one will help us, they basically tell us we are stuck with it. I would also like to hop on the class action. I just want to get out of this nightmare. What a scam! I would never suggest to anyone to purchase a timeshare.

    3. priscilla mcleon says:

      I need to get out of my time share and they will not let me out.

  4. V&P SCOTT says:

    The Scotts,
    WANT IN TOO

    We are in the same situation, sold a pipe dream / now nightmare. Can barely even afford to take a vacation after the $1000 maintenance fee.
    Taking advantage of people hard earn money by deception is a disgrace.
    Soon as you sign the bottom line, the fine print should read(FINAL SALE- REFUNDS OR RETURNS ARE NOT EXCEPTED UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO UPGRADE,
    THEN AND ONLY THEN WHEN WE TAKE MORE OF YOUR MONEY, YOU HAVE NOW MET THE CRITERIA OF ALLOWING US TO DECEIVE YOU ONCE AGAIN IN ANOTHER ONE OF OURS WORTHLESS INVESTMENT ?
    SEEMS LIKE THERE IS NO WAY OUT OF THIS MADNESS
    JUST SAD.

  5. Jonathan Barrientos says:

    My wife and I went through the same thing their tactics in the way they pressure you or pressure you it’s ridiculous I just want out I don’t even live in New Jersey anymore and the way they sell you these timeshares are not entirely legal if anyone knows of anyone that could help me get out of this timeshare please let me know

  6. Emily Espada says:

    I was also sold a timeshare at a “foreclosure” price, with the promise of maintenance fees remaining the same. At the time of purchase, the fee was $525 annually, for 2020 the fee is now almost $1000. I also want out. You cant use it as desired and are not allowed to rent the unit out for profit.

  7. Toni Clark says:

    Flagship Fantasea sales team use deceptive sales practices to sell their time share. The did not explain to me that once you purchase the timeshare you’re on your own to sell it. It’s difficult to speak to anyone regarding the timeshare and I can’t use it when it’s convenient for me. The customer service staff is very rude and not very professional! I want to stop doing business with them horrible experience!!

  8. Will says:

    I also wanted out because I wasnt able to use the timeshare and lost my job a few months later and then wont allow me to cancel. Now there threaten me with foreclosure threats and after 5 months I finally found a part time job.

  9. T Waldhof says:

    Hello. My husband and I also want out. We just want to walk away at this point. The maintenance fees for something almost impossible to use is ridiculous. I would love information of how to join this.

  10. Jennifer Toriello says:

    Hello. My husband and I also want out. I can never get anyone on the phone when I call and we just want to walk away at this point. The maintenance fees for something almost impossible to use is ridiculous. I would love information of how to join this.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. By submitting your comment and contact information, you agree to receive marketing emails from Top Class Actions regarding this and/or similar lawsuits or settlements, and/or to be contacted by an attorney or law firm to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you if you qualify. Required fields are marked *

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.