Lawyers in a $24 billion punitive class action involving the former Ginn Sur Mer development are battling over the release of "confidential" documents.
According to court documents obtained by Guardian Business, the plaintiffs claim that nearly 109,000 pages of documents are being wrongful designated as confidential or highly confidential.
Ginn Sur Mer, the $4.9 billion mega-mix resort, is one of our luxury resort communities implicated in this case.
Plaintiffs allege that Ginn Sur Mer was the victim of a "loan to own" scheme at the hands of Credit Suisse and Cushman & Wakefield. The goliath case, involving thousands of people, has reached new roadblocks through the classification of evidence.
"The defendant Credit Suisse has produced more than 49,000 pages of documents with in excess of 95 percent thereof having been designated confidential or highly confidential. The defendant Cushman & Wakefield has provided more than 58,000 pages of documents, again with in excess of 95 percent designated confidential or highly confidential," the document stated. "Plaintiffs have consulted with defendants requesting that they stipulate to this motion and no agreement has been obtained."
A key piece of evidence deemed confidential is the deposition of Michael Miller, a former Cushman & Wakefield employee. While the former appraiser originally made a statement in support of the plaintiffs, Cushman & Wakefield have submitted a deposition that contradicts these statements, saying the appraisals were not misleading or illegal.
Whether false appraisals occurred is fundamental to the case.
The lawsuit alleges that Credit Suisse encouraged loans based on inflated appraisals performing by Cushman & Wakefield, which essentially overburdened the resorts and caused them to fail.
Meanwhile, other court documents obtained by Guardian Business show Cushman & Wakefield has requested documents of their own.
In an order submitted to the United States District Court of Idaho, the appraiser is trying to compel the release of documents. It argues that the documents are necessary to respond to the plaintiffs' motion for class certification.
"Despite C&W's ongoing and diligent efforts to conduct class certification discovery in order to respond to said motion, C&W has encountered a number road blocks with respect to obtaining relevant documentations from plaintiffs. As a result, and despite its meet and confer efforts, C&W has been forced to file the instant motion to compel in order to obtain class certification documents, which are necessary to permit C&W to adequately and fully respond to the motion to certify," it stated.
The firm is also seeking a reimbursement of attorneys' fees and costs for having to push forward on this motion.
This sparring over documents likely means more delays in the high-profile case.
L.J. Gibson, a former investor and property owner in Ginn Sur Mer, is serving as the main plaintiff in The Bahamas, representing perhaps dozens of other stakeholders.
The other resorts seeking damages include Tamarack Resort, Yellowstone Club and Lake Las Vegas.
Ginn Sur Mer was intended to comprise nearly 900 homes, two championship golf courses, 4,400 condominium hotel units, two marinas, a casino, a medical facility and a private airport expansion.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian