A federal judge has again ordered a sale of properties at
the Rarity Bay development in Vonore.
In an order filed this week, U.S. District Judge Thomas
Varlan directed a receiver to conduct a private sale of
assets at the development, including the golf course and
country club, more than 100 lots and several condominiums.
It's the second time in a year that a Rarity Bay sale has
been ordered. In January of last year, U.S. Magistrate Judge
Bruce Guyton ordered a sale of assets at the development in
connection with a protracted legal fight involving
developers Robert Stooksbury and Mike Ross, among others.
Guyton's order was forestalled by various legal maneuvers.
The sale comes in connection with a legal fight that began
in 2009. Stooksbury had sued Ross and several other
defendants in connection with Rarity Pointe, a waterfront
golf community in Loudon County, and in 2012 a default
judgment was entered in the case.
A jury subsequently awarded Stooksbury compensatory damages
of more than $3.5 million on RICO violations and $11.3
million for state-law claims, plus an additional $15 million
in punitive damages. The district court later trebled the
compensatory RICO damages.
Since then, Stooksbury has been trying to collect those
damages. That same year, Sterling P. Owen IV, a former FBI
special agent and Knoxville police chief, was appointed as a
receiver, after Guyton ruled that fraudulent conduct had
likely occurred, related to conveyances of property by Ross
and others.
The Rarity Bay golf course and clubhouse were transferred to
an entity called American Harper Corp. in March 2012,
shortly after a jury issued the judgment against Ross and
other defendants.
Mark Brown, an attorney for American Harper and Ted Doukas —
a businessman who is affiliated with the entity — said
Friday that American Harper no longer owns the course.
In November, a settlement conference was held involving
various parties in the case. That process yielded an
agreement in which Doukas and his entities gave up
management responsibilities for Rarity Bay. Effective Dec.
1, an entity owned by Stooksbury was appointed to assist
Owen in operating the development.
"Mr. Doukas is satisfied with the resolution," Brown said
Friday. "He tried to do his best for the Rarity Bay
community, wishes them well in the future, and is moving
on."
The judge's order said Stooksbury can submit a credit bid
for Rarity Bay, essentially offering to reduce the amount
owed to him in the 2012 judgment.