Rodriguez named in $1M Law Suit (ESPN)
Link: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5025684
Didn't see this posted anywhere. Just can't seem to stay out of the news in the negative light. Doesn't seem like a huge deal but shows up on ESPN's college front page.
From the article: "Rodriguez is listed among those accused of defaulting on the loan."
March 24th, 2010 at 11:49 PM ^
Not that big of a deal, but it was posted earlier today.
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/i-can-spare-you-all-freep-link-rr-property-…
Looks like he might have been named because he had the deepest pockets...
March 25th, 2010 at 12:14 AM ^
Yeah, I agree. I'm a fan, but he seems to have developed a real knack for inserting his foot into his ass.
Orson said never trust a man named Clegg Lamar Greene.
This is the same deal as the Blacksburg condos that never were put up. It appears that Clegg probably stole a bunch of money and the investors are going after several partners, including Rodriguez, to get there money back. Clegg is going to go to jail. The first link on the Google search was from that evil paper, but I thought they did a pretty fair job. There's no way to really spin this, RR got involved with in with a con man and got conned--at least that's how it appears to me.
March 25th, 2010 at 12:34 AM ^
Clegg is dead.
March 25th, 2010 at 12:37 AM ^
F, you're right. I forgot.
March 25th, 2010 at 12:44 AM ^
"There's no way to really spin this"...
...so what is your point?
Does RR need some spin? He got screwed by some "developers"
Can we get on with football?
March 25th, 2010 at 12:51 AM ^
There's nothing like people who want to make mountains out of molehills......
Standard on real estate development loans. Seems RichRod was a passive investor in a project that failed. The lender on the project likely had personal guarantees in place to allow it to go after individual investors if there was a default. Like I said, this is standard. I assume the lender filed against all the partners. This is no big deal in relation to RichRod's day job.
March 24th, 2010 at 11:50 PM ^
They must be stopped!
March 24th, 2010 at 11:54 PM ^
Freep: "Rodriguez responsible for Housing Bubble, Bubonic Plague."
Alabamans: "I wish I wore a condominium. My pecker burns and more worrisome is that I don't know what a goat-man-baby might eat. Fritos?"
Everyone else: "They have Condos in Alabama?"
March 25th, 2010 at 12:04 AM ^
...for this predictably anti-RR post..
...we get it...he invested money with some poorly intentioned individuals
..can we get onto Michigan Football 2010?
March 25th, 2010 at 12:53 AM ^
Please dear mother of God don't let them find heroin or dead bodies in the damn condos...
I know you were referring to a Freep wet dream.
March 25th, 2010 at 10:11 AM ^
Your kindness will be repaid with freedom when I enslave the world.
I remember hearing about this months ago.
March 25th, 2010 at 11:44 AM ^
That is because this is the second incident of the exact same thing.
agreed that this is tabloid journalism based on someone naming a deep pocket in the hopes of squeezing some money out of a passive investor.
Sorry to insert this off-topic, but I can't start a new topic (stoopid points, LOL): ND now starts winter workouts at 5am, should there be any investigation into the propriety of THAT? Even if it turns out they're within the "hours per day/week", there must be a rule about when practices can take place. I mean, is it permissible for a coach to conduct practice at 3am? Midnight? If 5am is fine, then so be it. Sorry to instigate, but for the media to pillory Michigan without investigating other representative BCS schools' compliance with the "rules" really frustrated me.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-notredame-kelly
I played water polo and was a swimmer for my four years in high school. We had 5:30am practices every morning before school for both sports, about 6 months out of the year.
I don't think 5:00am practices are unreasonable for scholarship-wielding D1 football players at a major institution.
But the NCAA sure does disagree with me.
My son did crew at Purdue as an undergrad.They were up every morning at 5 for conditioning and then did rowing time on the river in the afternoon.
Our HS hockey practices were at 5:30 AM. It was the only way we could find rink time.
As far as RichRod's deals go, I would suggest a new financial advisor.
Nothing about RR of concern other than more drama surrounding the man and more ammo for those who want his head if we don't win.
"Coach Rodriguez, as well as the remaining LLC members, were passive investors in several real estate developments, including the Legends of Tuscaloosa condominium project. ... These projects suffered setbacks due to the fraudulent actions of its orginal promoter and developer, Lamar Greene. ... This lawsuit appears to be one where one victim is trying to recoup losses by suing other victims."
This is nothing.
March 25th, 2010 at 10:06 AM ^
Chances are the deal would have never been completed even withouth fraudulent actions by the sponsor.
Unfortunately, though Coach Rod and the other investors may not have originally been "on the hook" for the loan, fraudulent actions are an exception. With the sponsor gone, the bank can either go after his estate or the passive investors...much easier to go after the investors than deal with estate attorney's.
As I said yesterday, this could have/has happened to anyone and it's a shame that it is acting as another way for outsiders to pile on.
March 25th, 2010 at 10:16 AM ^
This is the top sports story on my Comcast news page. Is there nothing more newsworthy - or IMPORTANT - than this?
March 25th, 2010 at 12:30 PM ^
I just LOVE that headline. It names just him, and not the investment group as a whole. Only when you read the story does it mention him being in an investment group. Is it me, or do most Comcast articles look they've been written by a 6th grader that spent the previous night huffing? I've seen articles with bad spelling, grammar, and misplaced or nonexistent punctuation. What makes it so bad is that people are influenced by stuff. No wonder why some people are dumber than a box of rocks. Hey Comcast, thanks for giving me yet another reason for wanting to punch some douchebag State fan, or Michigan "fan" in the throat for giving me shit for supporting RR.
March 25th, 2010 at 10:26 AM ^
The lawsuit is a related matter to the one that RR was named in last year. Basically (and I actually read the Court filings of that one), RR and several other individuals entered into a partnership and that partnership made investments in certain developments. The partners invested in a development in which the developer apparently made fraudulant statements. Now, because the entire deal has fallen apart, the entity that made the loan TO THE DEVELOPMENT (and not to RR, directly), is suing to repayment of the loan, as well as interest. RR and his partners, as investors in the development, signed something that is called a "personal guarantee" on the loan amount. What this means is that if the DEVELOPMENT defaults on the loan, the lender can not only sue the development company, but can also sue each of the investors personally to recover the amounts owed. This is basically a means for the lender to get additional protection in case there is a default.
A few points of perspective:
1. These personal guarantees are standard in virtually all development deals. All investors, even those that invest a small amount, will generally be required to sign them, the theory being that you will profit if the development is a success, so you are somewhat on the hook if it goes bust.
2. Back in 2006 (i.e. before the real estate crisis), the odds of a developer defaulting and the lender having to sue the signers of a personal guarantee were minimal.
3. A large number of atheletes have been involved in similar lawsuits, including Michael Jordon, Dave Winfield, numerous NASCAR drivers, and Wayne Gretzky. These are also common with entertainers. Basically, individuals that make large incomes tend to join these types of partnerships that invest part of their $$ in investments that generate "passive income." These investments also provide the investors with tax write-offs, which are necessary for high earners like RR.
So, while the media will likely cite this as another example of RR being involved in something that is not positive, this REALY is nothing. Just more unfortunate bad luck for RR, who can't escape the cloud that he has been living under for the last 2 years.
Sorry for the length of this post . . .
March 25th, 2010 at 11:11 AM ^
Michgoblue, your post was a good explanation of the action involving RichRod. The suit does not suggest that as a guarantor of the loan that Richrod or other investors did something wrong, such as breaching a contract, but only acted as guarantors of the loan.
While you noted that you can sue the investors personally, most of these agreements state that the liability is "jointly or severally", meaning that in a worse case, each investor may be liable for the full extent of the obligation. If the other investors have no assets, RichRod could be liable for the entire amount owed.
March 25th, 2010 at 11:47 AM ^
Yes - under these types of agreements, while the investors as a whole can be liable for the entire amount, that amount is not divided in such a way that each investor is only liable for their percentage share. So, even a small investor can be on the hook for the whole amount if the other investors do not have the assets to pay.
At some point, between this lawsuit and the WVU jihad fiasco where he had to personally pay his own $$ to WVU, RR is going to become one of those people that quits his job, stops shaving (and perhaps showering) and lives in some cottage in the woods in the middle of nowhere, just to drop off the grid and escape any further indignity at the hands of our legal system.
March 25th, 2010 at 11:52 AM ^
The part that looks bad is that in both cases the condos are next to the college football stadiums. If the condos were on Mackinaw Island I don’t think this would be a headline or maybe I am underestimating the anti RR crowd.
March 25th, 2010 at 11:24 AM ^
You know, if RR does get fired at some point before the end of his contract, his legal team is going to have a field day pursuing defamation suits and the like...there is a conspiracy afoot. TUOOS alums and disgruntled old school Michigan alum working together...that is a sin beyond comprehension.
March 25th, 2010 at 11:28 AM ^
And this has what to do with the 3-3-5 or the offense?
In Freep News: The sky falls, but only on Rich Rodriguez's house...