Reserve at Summit Rock Files Lawsuit Against Horseshoe Bay Resort

HORSESHOE BAY, Texas, Jan. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Reserve at Summit Rock, LP, owner of the Golden Bear Reserve—a 21-acre, golf-front development overlooking Summit Rock Golf Course—has filed a petition against Summit Rock Communities LLC and the Horseshoe Bay Resort, owner of the neighboring Summit Rock Golf Course and the Summit Rock community.

The related defendants in the suit are Summit Rock Communities, LLC; Summit Rock Holdings, LLC; Horseshoe Bay Resort Enterprises, LLC, and Horseshoe Bay Resort Ltd. Claims filed by Reserve at Summit Rock include various allegations of wrongful conduct on the part of Horseshoe Bay Resort Chairman Douglas Jaffe, Jr. and Chief Executive Officer Douglas Jaffe III, which led to specific damages to the Reserve's development. The suit alleges multiple instances of interference, specified nonperformance and the reformatting of the Public Improvement District solely for the long-term benefit of the defendants—all of which harmed the Reserve. The amount of damages specified in the filing is not less than $5,850,000. 

The petition further alleges and outlines the competitive advantage that Jaffe, Jr. and his affiliates have over other developers in the area based on their unique partnership with the Summit Rock community and Summit Rock Golf Course lender, International Bank of Commerce (IBOC).  

"We find the venture relationship between the Resort and its own lender very disconcerting," Jay Fertig, president of Reserve at Summit Rock, LP, said. "In fact, disclosures publicly available through the Secretary of State, as of year-end 2012, reflect that the authorized managers of Summit Rock are all either former or existing International Bank of Commerce senior officers, including its chairman, Dennis Nixon.

From these disclosures in the public records, it is easy to discern the relationship between the Resort and its lender partner, International Bank of Commerce (NASDAQ symbol IBOC). Non-institutional loans in excess of $140 million to one or more related entities, some of which are managed by the bank's own officers, should cause a great deal of shareholder and regulatory scrutiny." 

The community of Summit Rock remains largely undeveloped with the exception of the golf course, which has no permanent facilities—such as a clubhouse and cart barn—other than comfort stations. Certain Horseshoe Bay Resort members have access to Summit Rock Golf Course, a Jack Nicklaus Signature Course, which opened in the past year.

"It has been our pleasure and commitment to pay every dime to every subcontractor who has worked to help create our project," Fertig said. "We consider ourselves to be responsible and good for our word, and we expect our Resort counterparts who are working on Summit Rock to act responsibly and fairly while fulfilling their own responsibilities to their customers and to their neighbors. We regret the current situation, but we are absolutely committed to acting in the best interest of our buyers and members who want to enjoy the amenities promised to them, including the golf course."

"Our development is open for business, and our residents are thrilled with their upscale, top-of-the-line Hill Country homes," Bob Rowan, president of Westway Custom Builders (a general partner in the project and long-standing custom builder in Horseshoe Bay), said. "We are taking a sustainable approach to developing a beautiful community with houses that are built to suit each resident, which is very different than other firms building in the area."

San Antonio-based law firm Pulman, Cappuccio, Pullen & Benson, LLP is representing Reserve at Summit Rock. Additional information about the litigation can be found at https://files.secureserver.net/4fcqhfapJf40Cq.

SOURCE Reserve at Summit Rock, LP