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AUCTION – 2901 TREMAINSVILLE ROAD – MAY 29, 2009
The contents will be auctioned at 2:00 p.m. at 2901 Tremainsville Road.
The building and parking lot across the street will be sold at 4:00.
For additional information about this property or to schedule a tour, please contact Amlin & Associates at (419) 867-7653.
February 18, 2009
Westhaven’s original headquarters – 5237 Renwyck Drive, Toledo OH – will be sold at absolute auction on Thursday, March 12, 2009 at 5:30 p.m. at 5237 Renwyck Drive. There will be a 10% buyer’s premium. For additional information about this property or to schedule a tour, please contact Amlin & Associates at (419)867-7653.
As of this writing, four properties remain unsold; however, offers are pending for their sale. We anticipate that all remaining properties will be sold by the end of February, except for the Renwyck property discussed above.
Following the auction, the Receiver will notify the Court that all receivership properties have been sold. A final accounting will be submitted. The Court will then be asked to instruct the Receiver as to how to disburse the remaining funds to unsecured investors.
February 16, 2009
John & Scot Ulmer, Roger Morr, and Anthony Garzony will be held sentenced on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at 10 a.m. at the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas.
Investors and other interested parties are welcome to attend this hearing, which is likely to be televised locally. The 18 investors specifically cited in the indictments will have the opportunity to address the Court. Then, if time permits, others will be invited to address the Court, if they so desire. If you plan to attend this hearing and would like to address the Court, please notify Elisabeth at our Toledo office by the close of business on Friday, March 20.
You may also write to the judge regarding the sentences that should be imposed on the Ulmers, Morr, and Garzony. Send your letters to Honorable Stacy Cook, Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, 700 Adams Street, Toledo OH 43604.
October 6, 2008
During October, the remaining Westhaven properties will be auctioned. A schedule of open houses and auction dates is available on the Receiver's website.
According to the Court's October 6, 2008 Order, any investor with an interest in any property being auctioned must appear at the auction and bid on the property in order to exercise his or her right to purchase the property. Failure to bid on the property will be considered to be a waiver of the right to purchase the property.
June 3, 2008
On June 21, 2008, the Beth Rose Auction Company will auction 28 Westhaven properties. Please see the “property listings” section of this website for details on that auction. The Court conducted pretrial conferences on May 13 and 14 for all of the remaining approximately 60 Westhaven properties that are currently under land contract. If the land contract vendees are unable to obtain financing, these properties will be vacated and sold at auction later this year. Approximately 12 properties remain listed for sale. These properties can also be found at the “property listings” section of this website.
Upon the sale of property, the Receiver has been instructed by the Court to continue to distribute to secured investors 80% of the net sale price (not to exceed 80% of the mortgage).
October 4, 2007
On October 4, 2007, investor Roger Kille through his attorney Drew Griffith filed an appeal of the second case management order. The filing of this Notice of Appeal may stay all activity of the Receivership during the pendency of the appeal and will cause significant delay in the ultimate winding down of the Receivership. The filing of the appeal will also stop distributions to the investors as determined in the September 5, 2007 Case Management Order. The Receiver will be meeting with Judge Zmuda in the near future to discuss the impact of the appeal.
September 5, 2007
On September 5, 2007, the Court issued its Second Case Management Order, which can be found on our website. This order deals mainly with how funds are to be distributed. As of this date, the Receiver and his staff are reviewing the Order to determine how to implement its terms.
If you have an attorney, we cannot speak directly with you due to ethical considerations. Please have your attorney contact our office with your question.
August 10, 2007
Sixty-three (63) vacant properties have been auctioned for a total of $964,000. After closing, secured investors are receiving checks for 80% of the net sales price for each property.
On July 28, 2007, checks were mailed to investors who had mortgages on properties generating land contract income. Seventy-eight (78) investors received funds totaling $210,193.12.
The Court has not ruled on the Receiver’s Motion for Instructions. The Court has scheduled all pending motions for hearing on August 14, 2007, at 2:00 p.m. Investors may, but are not required, to attend this hearing.
April 18, 2007
With the dismissal of the appeal filed by Anna Copass, et al, Judge Zmuda has scheduled a hearing on all pending matters including the Receiver's Motion for Instructions and the Motion for Reconsideration filed by Anna Copass, et al. This hearing will be April 27, 2007, at 1:30 p.m. in the Lucas County Courthouse.
March 6, 2007
Judge Zmuda conducted a pre-trial conference on March 2, 2007. The Judge approved the settlements of the NHOJ and Oh appeals. With the elimination of these appeals, we now have a final Distribution Order. The Receiver will now be filing a Motion to clarify various administrative issues that arise out of the Distribution Order.
The Receiver is accelerating the efforts to sell the nearly 100 vacant properties. These properties are costing the Receivership nearly $30,000/month in direct and overhead expenses. Many of these properties are vacant because investors refused to release mortgages when sales were pending during the past year.
The Receiver is distributing in excess of $1,000,000 to those investors who previously agreed to escrow sales proceeds in an F.B.O. Account until the Distribution Order was final.
February 15, 2007
The Receiver has entered into a tentative agreement with the lawyers for NHOJ, Inc. and Mrs. Oh in order to settle their claims to avoid an appeal. The Receiver has requested the Court to approve a settlement in the amount of $5,000 to Mrs. Oh and $20,000 to NHOJ, Inc. The details of this agreement are contained in the Motion for Instructions filed by the Receiver on January 25, 2007, and posted to the website. One investor has objected to this settlement.
The Receiver is accelerating its efforts to sell properties, particularly vacant properties. The Receiver is also establishing procedures in order to administer the Court's December 2006 Distribution Order.
January 18, 2007
First American Title Company filed an objection to the denial of its claim and filed a motion to stay the court's December 15, 2006 Order of Distribution. The Receiver has resolved the concerns of First American Title through a Motion for Instructions and First American Title will be withdrawing its objection and its motion to stay. Furthermore, First American Title has not appealed the December 15, 2006 Order of Distribution.
Notices of appeal were filed by two individuals--Youngsim Lee Oh and NHOJ Investments, Inc. The Receiver is of the preliminary opinion that these notices of appeal will not affect the implementation of the Order of Distribution and the Receiver will be filing a Motion for Instructions requesting Judge Zmuda to authorize continued implementation of the Order of Distribution.
January 2, 2007
On December 15, 2006, Judge Osowik issued his Order of Distribution. A copy of the Order is posted on the website.
Judge Osowik’s Order creates three classifications of investors:
1. Banks
2. Secured Investors
3. Unsecured Investors
If no appeal is filed my mid-January, the Receiver will accelerate its efforts to liquidate Westhaven’s assets. The Receiver is also addressing various administrative issues which will arise due to the implementation of Judge Osowik’s Order. If an appeal is filed, the Receiver anticipates a significant additional delay and significant additional costs in liquidating Westhaven’s assets and in distributing funds to the investors.
As a result of the November 2006 election, Judge Osowik now sits on the Court of Appeals. The Governor has appointed Judge Gen Zmuda to replace Judge Osowik. The Receiver anticipates that Judge Zmuda will immediately direct his attention to the Westhaven case and will oversee the liquidation in a fair and efficient manner.
August 8, 2006
At the June 2, 2006 hearing, Judge Osowik heard from the Receiver; attorneys representing secured and unsecured individual investors; counsel for institutional investors; and from a handful of investors. As of this writing (August 8, 2006), the Court has not decided how the assets should be distributed.
On July 10, 2006, the Judge ordered the Receiver to hire a forensic accountant to determine whether the business failed because it was a Ponzi scheme or because of different accounting systems. We expect to hire a forensic accountant shortly, once his conflict of interest check is completed.
On April 14, 2006, the Receiver filed his Report and Recommendation for the distribution of assets in the Receivership. Please see the filings page for the complete report. This report was mailed to all creditors (including investors), attorneys and other interested parties.
The Court has ordered that any investor, creditor or other interested party may object to the Receiver’s Report and Recommendation by filing a written objection by May 15, 2006. Please see the Court’s Order for information as to where and how to send the objection (the Receiver must also be sent a copy of the objection).
There will also be a hearing on June 2, 2006 beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Lucas County Courthouse, 700 Adams Street, Toledo, Ohio 43624, Courtroom No. 10. Attendance at the hearing is not necessary, but if you wish to speak at the hearing, you must send a notice of intent to appear at the hearing to the Receiver. Please click here for the Receiver’s address.
On March 3, 2006, the Court issued an order delaying all legal proceedings issued by investors against Westhaven. This ruling essentially froze the litigation. No discovery will be allowed other than that necessary by the Receiver to locate and marshal assets of the Receivership estate. The order also means that the time to file answers and cross-claims is delayed until further ordered by the Court.
The Receiver has also been ordered to file a report on April 14, 2006, giving an accounting of the assets and liabilities of Westhaven and its related entities. The report will present a time table for the marshalling of assets. The Receiver will classify the creditors and make a recommendation for distribution. This report will be sent to all investors and creditors (or, if applicable, their attorneys). All interested individuals will have the opportunity to make objections to the findings and recommendations of the Receiver.
To date, over 40 lawsuits have been filed by investors against Westhaven. These actions have all been consolidated into one case captioned Winkler v. Westhaven (CI: 200506854). The Court has made it clear that its intention is to continue to consolidate claims against Westhaven into this action. Practically speaking, this means that all future lawsuits against Westhaven will be automatically delayed until the Court issues additional orders.
The Receiver has been liquidating Westhaven’s assets. Please click on the filings tab and read the Receiver’s Second Status Report (3/24/06) for an explanation of how it has been going.
January 17, 2006
This information page is being established by the Receiver, Gerald R. Kowalski, who was appointed by Judge Osowik in the Westhaven litigation. This page is intended to assist investors, tenants, and land contract holders in knowing about the status of the case. For a general background on this case and the Receivership, please click on the Investor FAQ.
Information included on this page will be updated on a weekly basis as the proceedings evolve. You can also call our information hotline at 419-724-3323. If you would like to email the Receiver please send it to WHReceiver@cooperwalinski.com.
We will also be posting various court filings concerning the Receivership. Please understand that updates concerning this case may be slow as this litigation is complex.
We also understand that many investors, tenants, and land contract holders have specific concerns that they would like to discuss directly with the Receiver. Unfortunately, the large number of investors involved in this matter will make it difficult for the Receiver to personally discuss each issue. Nevertheless, the Receiver’s office is doing its best to return each email and phone call within a reasonable timeframe. If you are represented by an attorney in these matters, your attorney is the only person who should communicate with the Receiver’s office.
At this point in the litigation, Judge Osowik has suspended interest and principal payments on the investors’ promissory notes. It is not known when, or if, these payments will be resumed. The Judge has also consolidated the various lawsuits being brought against Westhaven, its related entities, and the Ulmers into Case No. 200506854 captioned Winkler v. Westhaven et al. This consolidation means that all future court papers will be filed under this case number and decided by Judge Osowik.
The Receiver will be making regular reports to the Court, which will be available through this website.
During the week of January 16, 2006, the Receiver will be sending a letter to each land contract holder instructing these individuals to continue to make their payments in order to assure completion of the contract.
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