Double Diamond Resorts Lawsuit: Eagle Rock, White Bluff, and The Cliffs

Double Diamond Resorts, the Dallas-based developer that operates White Bluff Resort and The Cliffs in Texas and Eagle Rock Resort in Pennsylvania, has been the subject of Double Diamond Resorts lawsuits for more than a decade, including an active enforcement action by the Pennsylvania Attorney General filed in January 2025, a private class action filed in September 2025, and long-running Texas litigation brought by more than 1,100 property owners over homeowners’ association fees.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Sues Over Eagle Rock Sales

In January 2025, Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania against Eagle Rock Resort Co. LLC, Eagle Rock Real Estate Co., Double Diamond–Delaware, Inc., and United Equitable Mortgage Corporation.¹ The complaint alleges violations of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Act, and the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act.

At the heart of the case is a pricing gap. According to the state, Eagle Rock sells undeveloped lots for $30,000 to $100,000, while their actual resale value on the open market is typically only $5,000 to $20,000.² The Attorney General alleges that sales staff present the prices as below market by using “comparable properties” that are really prior internal sales to other buyers at similarly inflated prices, and that agents told buyers the lots would appreciate 10 to 15% per year and were “life-long investments.”¹ A claimed $15,000 “membership fee” waiver, the state alleges, is fictitious because no consumer has ever actually paid it.

The complaint also alleges Eagle Rock targeted international and new-immigrant populations, and that buyers who financed through United Equitable Mortgage Corporation ended up locked into payments on lots worth a fraction of the purchase price. All lot owners must join the Eagle Rock Community Association by deed covenant and pay annual fees; owners of undeveloped lots pay the same fees as owners of developed lots but are barred from camping overnight on their own land. The state alleges Eagle Rock misled consumers about trade-in, repurchase, and resale programs, giving buyers a false impression they had a way out. One consumer complaint cited in the filing put it this way: “the value just keeps declining while the fees just keep adding up.”²

The state is seeking an injunction against future deceptive sales, restitution for affected consumers, civil penalties of $1,000 per violation (rising to $3,000 per violation for victims aged 60 or older), and reimbursement of investigation and litigation costs.¹ Affected consumers have been directed to contact the Bureau of Consumer Protection at 1-800-441-2555 or scams@attorneygeneral.gov.³

Eagle Rock Class Action

On September 5, 2025, the law firms Sauder Schelkopf and Levin Sedran & Berman filed a class-action complaint in the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, against the same four defendants named by the Attorney General. The private complaint alleges the developers misled consumers into purchasing undeveloped lots for $30,000 to $100,000 that were worth only $5,000 to $8,000, marketed as investment properties tied to promised future amenities such as golf courses, ski facilities, and an aquatic center.⁴ The firms have been seeking additional lot purchasers to join the litigation.

Texas White Bluff Property Owners Litigation

The longest-running fight involves White Bluff Resort, a golf community at Lake Whitney in Hill County, Texas, that grew to roughly 6,300 platted lots and more than 5,000 property owners.⁵ Purchasers must join the White Bluff Property Owners Association and pay mandatory semi-annual assessments. The core allegation across every White Bluff suit is that those assessments have been funneled to Double Diamond rather than used for the community, because Double Diamond wholly owns the golf courses and restaurants the fees subsidize.

More than 450 current and former owners initially accused Double Diamond of charging “exorbitant fees” through what they called a “puppet property owners’ association” that directed proceeds to the developer, including a mandatory $250 “food and beverage” fee that plaintiffs said subsidized the company’s for-profit hospitality operations.⁶ Owners also alleged Double Diamond kept control of the WBPOA board by rigging elections and rewriting bylaws, and that owners who refused to pay faced foreclosure by the company’s financing arm. Claims included violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, fraud in a real estate transaction, fraudulent inducement, negligent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, and declaratory relief that the fees were illegal under nonprofit law and the tax code.⁵ Double Diamond, through its attorneys at Winstead PC, said the allegations had no merit and would be “vigorously defended.”

An earlier federal class action, Bridgewater et al. v. Double Diamond Inc. et al. (Case No. 3:09-cv-01758), filed in 2009 in the Northern District of Texas under the federal RICO statute, failed to obtain class certification, which pushed the dispute into state court.⁷⁵

The consolidated state suit, Walkinshaw et al. v. Double Diamond, Inc., et al. (Cause No. DC-11-10333-J, 191st Judicial District Court), grew to more than 1,100 plaintiffs. The trial court granted partial summary judgment finding that mandatory fees collected by the WBPOA and spent on property the WBPOA did not own were unauthorized under the resort’s governing documents, the Texas Property Code, and applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and Texas Tax Code.⁸⁹

The Cliffs Resort Case

Property owners at The Cliffs, a Double Diamond resort community at Possum Kingdom Lake in Palo Pinto County, Texas, sued the developer in Dipprey v. Double Diamond, Inc. (No. 11-19-00250-CV). After a bench trial, the property owners and The Cliffs Property Owners’ Association took nothing on all claims, which included breach of contract for alleged overcharges and maintenance failures, breach of fiduciary duty, disputes over ownership of the water and sewer systems, and claims for diminished property values.¹⁰

In October 2021, the Eastland Court of Appeals affirmed most of the trial court’s rulings, including a finding that Double Diamond owed no fiduciary duty to the POA because the relationship was governed by a service agreement rather than a confidential relationship.¹¹ The appellate court reversed on one point: it declared that The Cliffs was no longer in its “development period,” meaning Double Diamond had lost the unilateral power to amend the community’s covenants and restrictions, and remanded for the trial court to determine the practical effect of that ruling.¹⁰

Kentucky Attorney General Action

In June 2011, the Kentucky Attorney General sued Double Diamond for violating state consumer protection laws in connection with Green Farms Resort.⁶ Details of the outcome were not available in the reviewed sources.

Not the Same as Diamond Resorts International

A separate case, Zwicky et al. v. Diamond Resorts International, Inc. (Case No. CV-20-02322-PHX-DJH), often surfaces in searches about Double Diamond. Zwicky was an Arizona class action alleging Diamond Resorts International hid management fees and overcharged timeshare owners; it settled for $13 million with final approval in April 2024.¹² Despite the similar name, Diamond Resorts International has no connection to Double Diamond, Inc. or Double Diamond–Delaware, Inc., and buyers or owners at Double Diamond properties are not covered by the Zwicky settlement.¹³

1
Pennsylvania Attorney General. Commonwealth v. Eagle Rock Resort Co., Complaint
2
Standard-Speaker. State Sues Eagle Rock Resort for Selling Vastly Overpriced Lots
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Times Leader. Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against Developer Eagle Rock Resort Co.
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Sauder Schelkopf. Sauder Schelkopf and Co-Counsel File Class Action Against Eagle Rock Resort Developers
5
FindLaw. Double Diamond-Delaware, Inc. v. Alfonso
6
Dallas Observer. Dallas Developer of Lake Whitney Resort Sued for Allegedly Pocketing Owners’ Assn. Fees
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GovInfo. Bridgewater et al v. Double Diamond Inc et al
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Justia. Double Diamond, Inc. v. Walkinshaw
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SCOTX Blog. Double Diamond, Inc. v. Walkinshaw, No. 23-0372
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FindLaw. Dipprey v. Double Diamond, Inc.
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vLex. Dipprey v. Double Diamond, Inc.
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Justia. Zwicky et al v. Diamond Resorts Incorporated et al
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Zwicky Assessment Settlement. Zwicky Assessment Settlement FAQ