October TARDA Newsletter – Club Exploria Loses Class Action Illinois Robocall lawsuit, a $7,750 Summer Bay Special Assessment – Joan’s outreach to Shriners Hospital and the Pope
Categories: Monthly NewslettersOctober 28, 2025
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New Club Exploria Timeshare Hostages Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/815849864717843/members
We are grateful to PODTV’s Timeshare Solution or Surrender producers Marc Lee, attorney Nick Paleveda, and producer and co-host Kimberly Calhoun, for allowing our voices to be heard. Episode 85, October 20, discussed Club Exploria legal updates, and the $7,750 Summer Bay special assessment. There is also a $1.30 per Expo point special assessment.
A New PODTV Beginning in 2026
Episode 86, October 27, was our final broadcast of the year, until our new format is launched in 2026. Due to the volume of timeshare members reaching out, beginning in 2026, the first 30 minutes of Timeshare Solution or Surrender show will air live. The second 30 minutes will be a Timeshare Resource Center featuring past guests, industry experts and attorneys, offering short segments describing services and resources. Together, we can support all in need of information concerning a timeshare purchase, usage or membership.
All episodes can be accessed from the Timeshare Solution or Surrender showcase by episode number. The showcase is at the bottom of the page. Click Live Update to watch .
Club Exploria Legal Updates – Robocalls
It’s safe to say we have all had it with robocalls. The Federal Trade Commission reports more than 4.5 million robocall complaints, more than all complaints put together. Club Exploria retained robocallers to solicit business for Summer Bay. Callers claimed to be calling from Helping Hands Association. https://helpinghandsassociation.net
On October 18, 2024, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein sued Club Exploria, LLC, for unlawfully spamming more than one million North Carolinians with robocalls trying to sell timeshares and vacation rentals.
https://ncdoj.gov/attorney-general-josh-stein-announces-lawsuit-against-illegal-robocallers
In 2019, George Moore filed a class action complaint in Illinois District Court Case No. 1:19-cv-02504. On September 26, 2025, George Moore’s request for summary judgment was granted (pretrial) stage – a victory for consumers, although Club Exploria may appeal. According to the lawsuit complaint:
Because telemarketing campaigns generally place calls to hundreds of thousands or even millions of potential customers en masse, the Plaintiff brings this action against Club Exploria on behalf of a proposed nationwide class of other persons who received calls during the Telemarketing Campaign
Club Exploria Summer Bay Resort’s Special Assessment
Summer Bay is a large resort campus that consists of 22 homes, as well as villas and condominiums. A special assessment of $7,750, per annual week, has been issued to all deeded owners of Summer Bay Lakeside Condominiums Association houses. Maintenance fees increased by 13.9% in 2025 to $2,020 per week, and 2026 maintenance fees have increased by 10.37% to $2,230.
Club Exploria controls several resorts, including Summer Bay. There are several Summer Bay Associations. The $7,750 special assessment was approved by The Summer Bay Lakeside Condominium Association, Inc. Board of Directors for the 22 Lakeside Homes renovations. Pursuant to the Club Exploria governing documents that state, “Any special assessment levied at a component site must be allocated across all Club Exploria Members based on their ownership”
Teresa, on PodTV Episode 85, and TARDA board members Jake Bercu and Irene Parker, took a look at the numbers. Teresa owns two Summer Bay weeks, so her assessment totals $15,500 that was due October 1st, followed by an invoice for approximately $5,000 in maintenance fees.
Given Club Exploria’s liabilities concerning robocall legal fees, and settlement costs in the Illinois lawsuit, potential settlement costs in the North Carolina Attorney General’s lawsuit, plus a projected 2026 delinquency increase to 31.5%, Teresa and others are concerned that Club Exploria is counting on default to be able to foreclose on the properties and resell without having to pay owners for what they have bought and paid for, especially given the short notice about the special assessment, just before maintenance fees were invoiced.
According to recently enacted Florida House Bill 897, If Teresa and other owners want access to the owner roster to address owner concerns, they must submit their message to Club Exploria, Club Exploria must approve the message, Club Exploria sends it out, and will charge the person who requested the roster.
According to our Summer Bay research:
1) The Summer Bay Lakeside Condominium Association, Inc. 2026 Budget, on pages 5 and 6, lists a “Bad Debt Expense” of $650,198, the anticipated 31.58% delinquency rate for 2026.
2) We believe that Club Exploria owns half of the Summer Bay Lakeside Association, Inc. weeks, and if over 30% of the rest of the owners will be delinquent in 2026, it will be an insurmountable task to make any changes to the Special Assessments that passed in 2025.
3) It is critical to review the 2024 Audited Financial Statements and the 2025 Summer Bay Lakeside Condominium Association, Inc budget. It may turn out that the 2024 actual and 2025 projected delinquency was only 10% and because of the Special Assessment, the 2026 projected Budget accounts for a projected 20% increase in delinquencies, in which case we may come to a different opinion. .
We reached out to attorney Michael Finn questioning the amount of the special assessment and the way it has been handled. His response:
Being right is often not enough if you don’t have the resources to back you up, and even if you do, you are probably risking a possibility of losing because of the paperwork that proceeds the litigation. I’m not anti-litigation, and have done enough in my 55 years of practice to know when to hold ‘em and when to fold them. Resorts are extremely well funded, and have learned that they can usually outlast their opponents because they have the money to do so. Most timeshare owners are, by definition, underfunded.
Excerpt from Joan’s Letter to the Pope
To His Holiness, Pope Leo, the XIV, concerning debt and Club Exploria
Cardinal Raymond Burke, Our Lady of Guadalupe National Shrine, 5250 Justin Rd, La Crosse, WI 54601
Shriners Hospital, partnered with Club Exploria
I am writing to ask you to pray for my family, and thousands of other families, who are being held against our will by the Club Exploria timeshare company. Despite paying annual maintenance fees for decades, debilitating medical hardship, and despite what is ordained in the Bible, Club Exploria demands we pay for life for a timeshare we can no longer use.There is a glut of unwanted timeshares that carry little to no resale value.
A Message on debt from His Holiness, Pope Francis, prior to his passing –
Club Exploria’s demand to hold seniors in debt until death and beyond
I was blessed to have seen the YouTube video of Pope Francis referencing what the Bible says about debt. The Bible commands debt cancellation, particularly within the Israelite community through the Sabbatical and Jubilee years. It states that debts are to be forgiven or released every seven years. This was viewed as a divine release from the Lord. The timeshare company, Club Exploria, feels they are above the Bible, in that elderly people, or anyone unable to use their timeshare, are expected to pay for the rest of their lives for a timeshare they cannot use.
My husband underwent a craniotomy where they had to remove part of his skull due to a brain bleed. There was so much blood that it moved his brain three inches. In recovery he ended up with blood clots that filled one lung and half of the other to where he needed a Greenfield filter to prevent any more blood clots from entering into his lung. He had an injury and needed to get a machine to grow his bone. He then had to have a heart ablation due to continuous AFIB. And now he is healing from three hernia surgeries.
Despite our medical hardship, Club Exploria refuses to take back our timeshare. They instead refer to a listing company that has been shown to inflate a listing price to justify their upfront fee.
Club Exploria also touts their support of Shriners Hospital, claiming in their marketing materials partnering with Club Exploria, “We go out of our way to make our owners feel special.” We don’t feel special. We feel like victims of financial elder abuse.
Pope Francis on debt, June 13, 2025, released after his passing, April 21, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQsL55jKwHo
Your Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, My prayer, on behalf of my family and thousands of families in our situation, is that you will pray for us, timeshare owners, who seek release from this unfair debt, and to share this with churches within the Dioceses, asking them to share with their parishioners, your prayer, as many are likely to be in the same situation.
Thank you for your consideration and your support for so many in need.
Joan Henry
Thomas Morris is the CEO of Club Exploria. Mr. Morris previously worked at Silverleaf until 2015. In our September newsletter, we included a link to a new website launched by Silverleaf owners called Silverleaf Gone Awry, an advocacy effort that, according to their website, was “created to bring owners of Silverleaf resorts past and present together to fight for what is lawfully ours.” Owners are concerned about Holiday Inn’s plan to divest themselves of most of Silverleaf’s resorts. Holiday Inn acquired Silverleaf resorts in 2015. According to Silverleaf Gone Awry, resorts downsized include: Fox River Resort, Hill Country Resort, Piney Shores Resort, Villages Creek Resort, Timber Creek Resort, Apple Mountain Resort.
https://silverleafgoneawry.com/
Holiday Inn and Club Exploria, both refer to Timeshares Only, a listing agency that charges an upfront fee to list weeks for sale. Timeshare Users Group produced this YouTube Video expressing their concerns:
That’s it for October. We appreciate those who have donated their time or treasure to support our efforts. Contact us if you would like to join our efforts to affect positive change for the betterment of all.
https://tarda.org/get-involved/