Westgate Resorts in Myrtle Beach faces pickets

Cynthia Reilly and Kitre Pugh carried white picket signs Monday as they marched the perimeter of Westgate Resorts in Myrtle Beach, warning passersby of their experience with the time share company. Less than two years ago, the pair were inside the resort, selling Westgate time shares.

Reilly, Pugh and more than 300 of their former co-workers are part of a class action lawsuit seeking unpaid commissions from CFI Sales & Marketing Ltd., a company that sold time shares on Westgate's behalf. Some of the employees began picketing Westgate, at 415 S. Ocean Blvd., on Aug. 21. Timothy Zinn, who helps organize the protests, said they have tried to have a few people picketing every day since then.

"I did what they asked me to do, and they owe me $80,000, and I want it," said Pugh, who was laid off by CFI in 2009.

Westgate representatives could not be reached for comment Monday.

The two parties reached an agreement in January that CFI would pay $650,000 - the amount held in reserve against the group's commissions - to the former employees within 180 days. That date passed on July 11 without the employees being paid, said Gene Connell, attorney for the plaintiffs.

CFI claims it does not have the money to pay, Connell said.

CFI has upheld its end of the January agreement, said John Wilkerson, the company's attorney. The company made two payments of $25,000 as scheduled in the agreement, and the workers only reserved the right to collect the full amount if the remaining $600,000 wasn't paid within 180 days, Wilkerson said. The workers have not taken action since then to collect the money, he said.

Wilkerson said he did not know the reason that CFI did not pay by the deadline.

Although the initial lawsuit was filed more than three years ago, several workers say they're not giving up until they are paid. In a hearing today in Horry County Court, Connell said he will seek to add Westgate Resorts and its parent company to the lawsuit, making them liable to pay the workers if CFI does not.

"We have a judgment, my clients want to be paid," Connell said. "They've been waiting a long time."

Wilkerson said he didn't see the basis of their claim against Westgate and parent company Central Florida Investments Inc., two companies that have not previously been involved in the legal proceedings.

"If the judgment debtor is not voluntarily paying, there are legal procedures they can take," said Wilkerson. "But they have not done any of it. Instead they're trying to hold someone else responsible."

The $650,000 is a small fraction of what some former employees say they are owed, and 23 of the workers seek an additional $19.5 million in damages from CFI for the rest of their unpaid commissions, said Zinn, who is among the plaintiffs.

If there isn't a decision in favor of the former CFI employees at today's hearing, Zinn and other picketers said they will step up their efforts during Labor Day weekend, when there will be more visitors to witness the protest.

"We're trying to shut them down," Zinn said.