TITLE
Some of the owners have good title. That is because Maitre Mouiel, the notaire, passed on their titles and the deeds were recorded before the Beauperthuy suit that started in the 1980s (or maybe early in 1990 I have tried to forget it). After the suit was filed the notaire could not pass on titles.

Let me give you a specific example that deals with one of the units which is now a hole in the ground filled with water and pieces of concrete (unit 50). Unit 50 was conveyed by recorded deed from Brink to William and Eva Schertzer. Bill was a brilliant engineer who designed the electric, water and sewer systems. Bill died and shortly thereafter so did Eva. There was great resistance on the part of the notaire to the transfer of a recorded deed to their daughter. We found a loophole in the Code Civil which permitted this (after two or three trips to the island to argue and countless phone calls). That daughter agreed to sell the unit to Dr. Renee Epper and Elisabeth Epper. Their deed was never recorded. They both died and their interests passed, again by non-public documents to their son Martin and, I believe his sister. The result: the record title is still in the name of the Schertzer's daughter and the Eppers hold a piece of paper.

THE DISPUTE
We became friends with Martin Epper during 1990s fight with the Brinks. Before the hurricane I reached out to the opposition group and offered to act as a neutral mediator. At the same time I spoke with the then President of the homeowners group who indicated a willingness to sit down and mediate. (Remember mediation is not like arbitration. The mediator simply tries to facilitate conversation between the parties designed to help them reach their own settlement). Owner Paul Dietterich replied, on October 27, 2016, to my offer as follows "Thank you for your message, your good intentions, and your generous offer of assistance. Our group has a new attorney, a specialist in copropriete law. She has developed plans that appear to be very strong, both for our case and for the resolution of the conflict. So at this moment we are following her lead."

After that message we have had the destruction of the resort, and no word from any judge. Perhaps the lawsuits continue to crawl along. Perhaps the parties are talking. As I have said many times the best thing would be for the parties to engage in mediation. Let me give you the #1 reason: Other than Martin Epper, the opposition group are all in their social security years. Some, like Paul and his wife are in their 80s. We can all imagine that after age 70, delaying something by 3 to 5 years, will feel very different than it did at age 45. I would imagine the opposition group is not out buying 20 year bonds.

I am still willing to act as a mediator between the groups. I don't have a dog in the fight. Perhaps with the passage of time the opportunity to mediate might be more interesting to both groups. I know both groups are represented on this board. Is it possible someone will see the light and want to sit down. Has it occurred to anyone that the new building code will change the face of the resort forever? Why not use that fact as a catalyst to bring the resort up from the ashes better than ever.