Pools, wallets may be empty

Art Nadler

Friday, March 29, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

A bankruptcy trustee attorney sees little hope of creditors recovering thousands of dollars from the defunct Oasis Pools Inc., even though principals in the company withdrew large corporate cash payments for themselves.

"I would tell homeowners to give up and get on with their lives," bankruptcy attorney Doug Gerrard said. "The chances of them seeing money would be pennies on the dollar."

James Hampton, Oasis Pools president, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy along with his two sons and a salesman in October after failing to complete most of the 156 Southern Nevada pools his company contracted to build from August through October. Some homeowners say they paid Oasis Pools as much as $19,000 for pools that were never finished.

"At this point in time, we haven't found anything to support fraud," Gerrard said. "But we found evidence of shoddy bookkeeping. The estate will file a lawsuit against Hampton, but that doesn't mean there is fraud at this time. The Hamptons made some responses to us that haven't been adequate."

Gerrard said he expects the bankruptcy trustee to make a decision regarding the lawsuit within 60 days.

"If we can prevail on the alter-ego theory (principals taking the cash), it's possible that everything Hampton has can be brought into the bankruptcy," Gerrard said.

That's what attorney Mary Groesbeck is hoping will happen. She's representing 30 homeowners who say they were bilked out of $800,000. Since Oasis Pools filed for bankruptcy, eight subcontractors have sued some of her clients to recover money they said Hampton never paid them.

"We are expecting 20 more lawsuits," Groesbeck said. "We are hoping for a recommendation from the trustee to find fraud so we can pierce the corporate veil and go after Hampton's personal assets."

Gerrard said he has no idea at this time if the Hamptons transferred corporation funds into their personal accounts. Once the lawsuit is filed, he will be able to investigate their accounts.

Marjorie Guymon is representing Oasis Pools in its bankruptcy. Attempts to reach her were unsuccessful.

Hampton recently hired former District Attorney Rex Bell's law firm to represent him in civil litigations. According to attorney Drew Christensen, Hampton told him he "wants to settle matters with all the consumers."

"We want to try and get this chapter in his life over," Christensen said. "We will be taking individual suits one at a time."

The Nevada attorney general's office has also been investigating Oasis Pools. An accountant and two attorneys are looking into 40 complaints to try to determine where homeowners' money went, said Deputy Attorney General Jayne Coffing.

Coffing said the state can go after Oasis Pools for deceptive trade practices, but that it is too early to determine if it will. Coffing said her office talked to Hampton when he filed for bankruptcy, but they haven't contacted him recently.

"Frankly, the public shouldn't expect us to solve this for them," Coffing said. "We tell homeowners to file complaints with our office. All we can do is enforce the laws and inform the public. Educating the public is the most important thing."

State Sen. Jon Porter, R-Boulder City, will have a meeting at 9:30 a.m. May 6 at Sawyer State Office Building, 555 E. Washington Ave., to address fraud in the marketplace. Swimming pool ripoffs will be part of that discussion. The meeting is open to the public and will be in the main conference room.

Porter previously said he is considering drafting legislation to change the state's lien laws.

Meanwhile, the state Contractors Board has voted to accept Hampton's voluntary surrender of his contractor's license. It also voted to fine him $5,000 for each complaint filed against Oasis Pools.

The board, however, said it wouldn't attempt to collect money until Oasis Pools' other creditors are paid, said Harry Stephey, director of investigations.