The Timeshare Beat: Jerry Sikes; The Trial, Part 1, The Plaintiff Speaks

"Facts are stubborn things; whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." - John Adams-

PART 1 – The Plaintiff speaks

The Bailiff begins speaking after the gavel: "Please rise and remain standing, the Honorable Judge Truthin Justice of the 5th Circuit Court of the United States. Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! All those having business before this Court are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the Court is now setting. God bless the United States and this Honorable Court!" Coming forward to stand at the appropriate tables were the attorneys representing both the Plaintiff and the Defendant.

The Bailiff continued: "Your Honor, Case # 2002 in the matter of Consumer vs. Industry has been placed on the docket, all parties thereto are present and represented by counsel, have been sworn and the Plaintiff is ready to present their opening statements." At this point Judge Justice looked up and stated: "You may begin!"

"Your Honor!" the plaintiff's lead council began, "My client's case is very simple and straight forward and the facts are irrefutable. We will present evidence that the Defendant did willfully and with total indifference to the proven detrimental results, continue to practice the same old methods of solicitation, enticements, spiel and coercion even after being warned over and over again that they must change. We will produce for the court video recordings which will show industry representatives working out of streetside locations in prime tourist destinations interfacing with those same-said tourists without disclosing their true affiliations and we will show that the overwhelming majority of those who were subjected to this affront did not respond favorably. We will produce for the court audio recordings of actual telephone conservations, which were initiated by the defendant’s representatives and directed toward the plaintiff. The overwhelming majority of these calls were uninvited and were timed for maximum interference with the plaintiff's right to peacefully enjoy the benefits of home. Of the ten different recordings to be presented, eight were received just as the plaintiff and his/her family sat down to partake of their evening meal. We will present expert testimony that this reprehensible pattern (80%) is in fact indicative of the worldwide results and is the deliberate intent of the defendant’s representatives for maximum effect. Your Honor, we will again provide evidence that the defendant again and again deliberately did not disclose during these telemarketing efforts their true affiliations.

"Additionally Your Honor, we will produce items identified as `Vacation Certificates', `Diamond Pendants', and `Designer Luggage' all of which were blatantly portrayed by the defendants representatives as having actual value 10 times greater than any realistic estimate. We will produce envelopes addressed to the plaintiff which were specifically designed to lead him/her to believe that the contents were from some `official' agency or government office when in fact they were not and we will place in evidence the letters contained within those envelopes which deliberately and falsely stated that the plaintiff `Had Won', or `Was a Winner', and that all they were required to do was contact the defendants representative to receive their `Prize'. In fact, Your Honor, the plaintiff in most instances had `Won' nothing and the ploy was to get them to visit the defendant’s place of business. We will produce expert testimony from the United States Postal Service that the defendant's representatives mail millions and millions of such pieces and deliberately prey on those among the plaintiffs that are susceptible to such fantasies. Other experts will testify that such efforts produce an alarmingly small response, well in disproportion to the number mailed and that the defendants have been repetitively advised to change to some other more effective and less tricky method of finding prospects, but refuses to do so.

"Then Your Honor, we will produce actual training materials and pitch books which the defendant's representatives use to perfect their ruse so that they can maneuver the typical plaintiff into believing what they disgorge, time and time again. These documents promise the defendant's representatives that they can feed on the 10 to 15% of the prospects who are the innocent and sometimes even naive and that if they follow the procedures and methods outlined they can expect to have incomes in the six-figure range. While not a party to this suit, Your Honor, there are several cohorts of the defendants that provide peripheral services and visual presentations that add creditability to the device used by the defendant’s representatives, yet these cronies claim themselves blameless for any misuse of their products or services by the defendants. One of these associates may well have made a point of presenting the defendant's representatives with the most damaging new allurement scheme, which require indoctrination point by point. While this new strategy has not yet impacted a major number of the plaintiffs, Your Honor, we are sure that we will be back before this Honorable Court on this issue in the near future.

"In closing Your Honor, the most reprehensible of the documents we will place in evidence are several which specifically instruct the defendant’s representatives on how to overcome objections by playing on the feelings and yearnings of the plaintiffs and others which deal with applying heat in the form of shaming, browbeating, isolation and the unrelenting use of double or triple teaming. Your Honor, we will display graphs derived from the defendant’s own research which will depict that the use of these tactics have historically offended the overwhelming majority of those who have fallen prey to the techniques and clear data that scientifically proves that continue use of and/or refinements to such methods will, in the future, cause additional damage to the plaintiffs.

"Your Honor, before the defendants counsel begins his opening remarks I would offer you this...

Final Thought

"The National Association that the defendant is a member of has as a cornerstone of its being a CODE OF ETHICS which each of its members have sworn to uphold. Over the last several years that National Association has funded Studies and/or Research, held Conferences, formed Task Forces, conducted Think Tanks, and encouraged its members to effect change. That National Association has recently revised its CODE OF ETHICS and enhanced its enforcement efforts. Yet Your Honor, at the end of the day we will have presented overwhelming evidence that little if any actual change has occurred and that the defendant fully intends to persist in causing harm to those plaintiffs whom they target as their market. Thank you, Your Honor and now I yield the floor to my learned colleague."