The Fairfield Glade, Tennessee lawsuits and the Attorney General investigation now center on a March 2026 inquiry by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office into the Fairfield Glade Community Club, a tax-exempt nonprofit that governs a large retirement and resort community near Crossville. The office is examining alleged violations of the Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act and has demanded records going back three fiscal years. The club has also been a party to several lawsuits over the last forty years, including a 1983 ruling that reshaped how the community’s dues obligations work.
What the Attorney General Is Looking Into
On March 31, 2026, the Attorney General’s office sent the club a written request for records after receiving multiple complaints. The request covered the identities of directors and officers, the charter and bylaws, and tax returns and financial statements for the previous three fiscal years. The club was given until April 30, 2026, to comply.1WATE. State Attorney General Looking Into Complaints About Fairfield Glade Community Club
The inquiry rests on the Attorney General’s statutory authority to oversee Tennessee nonprofits and their assets under the Nonprofit Corporation Act.2Yahoo News. State Attorney General Looking Into Complaints About Fairfield Glade Community Club
As of the end of April 2026, the club had not publicly responded or issued a statement to the media. The board hired outside legal counsel, withdrew proposed bylaw revisions, and suspended governance updates to members on the advice of its attorneys. Board President Greg Jones said the board would not answer questions on controversial subjects until the scope of the inquiry was better understood.33B Media News. Tennessee Attorney General Launches Broad Inquiry Into Fairfield Glade Governance
What Prompted the Complaints
The complaints that reached Skrmetti’s office grew out of a governance fight that came to a head in 2025. At its center was a proposed amendment to the community’s Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions that would have let the community’s declarant, Tom Anderson (operating as FGH Land TN), directly bill owners of undeveloped “C lots” south of Peavine Road for roads and water lines built after January 1, 2025.4Yahoo News. FGCC Membership Vote Amending Covenants
The board unanimously supported the amendment, arguing that without it, roughly 8,000 undeveloped lots might never be built out, depressing values for existing owners. The club noted that the governing documents designate the declarant as the only entity authorized to carry out development. Opponents said the existing covenants already made the declarant the “sole judge” of where and when infrastructure gets installed, and that layering a billing power on top of that amounted to a blank check.5Crossville Chronicle. Update: FGCC President on Rejected C&R Vote: The People Have Spoken
Property owners rejected the amendment overwhelmingly: 3,341 against, 662 in favor, or 16.5% support against the 75% threshold needed for passage. Jones acknowledged the outcome, saying, “The people have spoken.” Isaac Zuercher, a local homebuilder who had led the opposition and publicly discussed litigation over the covenants, then defeated incumbent treasurer Bruce Horn in the board election, 3,891 to 2,874.5Crossville Chronicle. Update: FGCC President on Rejected C&R Vote: The People Have Spoken
Residents also raised issues beyond the amendment. According to 3B Media News, complaints to the Attorney General included a December 2024 land agreement between the club and Anderson, a revised sewer availability policy, questions about a board member’s continued status following an alleged resignation, a perceived lack of transparency in how board committees are appointed, and allegations that the board withheld information it had previously promised to share. Former committee members went public with some of these concerns, framing them as a pattern of the declarant wielding outsized power over a community nominally governed by its own membership.33B Media News. Tennessee Attorney General Launches Broad Inquiry Into Fairfield Glade Governance
Member Confidence Had Already Dropped
Member frustration preceded the covenant fight. A July 2023 strategic planning survey by Private Club Associates drew 3,156 responses and rated board transparency at 2.97 out of 5.0 and responsiveness at 2.99 out of 5.0. The firm called both scores grounds for “urgent action.”6Crossville Chronicle. Urgent Action Needed: Fairfield Glade Board Member Relations Score Poorly in Survey
A spring 2025 follow-up by ClubInsights showed the numbers had worsened. Only 29% of 2,640 respondents expressed confidence in the board, 33 points below industry benchmarks; management confidence sat at 36%, and 37.3% rated transparency poorly. Consultants pointed to the covenant amendment controversy, the earlier decision to close the community stables, and communication missteps as drivers of distrust.73B Media News. Fairfield Glade Leaders Tackle Issues From Survey
Lawsuits Involving the Community Club
Hannewald v. Fairfield Communities (1983)
The current dispute echoes a case from four decades ago. In Hannewald v. Fairfield Communities, Inc., more than 80 property owners sued the original developer, Fairfield Communities, Inc., in a derivative action on behalf of the community club. They alleged that the developer-controlled board had relieved the developer of its obligation to pay membership dues on unsold lots, failed to collect dues from delinquent buyers, and improperly allocated operating costs between the developer and the club.8Justia. Hannewald v. Fairfield Communities, Inc., 651 S.W.2d 222
The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled in 1983 that the Declaration required the developer to pay dues on all platted lots, not just those in its “sales inventory.” But the court applied the doctrines of laches and equitable estoppel, enforcing the obligation only prospectively from December 1981, because the owners had waited too long while the developer made substantial contributions in reliance on the existing arrangement. The court also confirmed that members of a Tennessee nonprofit corporation have standing to bring derivative suits when the board fails to act. The club was ordered to pay $156,912.79 in attorney’s fees to the property owners’ lawyers and $50,000 to its own attorney.8Justia. Hannewald v. Fairfield Communities, Inc., 651 S.W.2d 222
Tolbert v. Fairfield Glade Community Club (2023)
Chris Tolbert, representing himself, filed an Americans with Disabilities Act claim against the club in Cumberland County Circuit Court in 2023. The club removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, where it was assigned to Chief Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr. After the club filed its answer on August 14, 2023, Tolbert voluntarily dismissed the case the next day, and the court closed the file on August 16, 2023.9CourtListener. Tolbert v. Fairfield Glade Community Club
Berdnik v. Fairfield Glade Community Club (2017)
Employee Patrice Berdnik alleged a back injury at one of the club’s snack bars in September 2016. The club denied the claim and asserted a pre-existing condition. Tennessee’s Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board affirmed the denial of temporary disability benefits and medical expenses, finding Berdnik had not shown the workplace contributed more than 50% to her condition. The board did, however, refer the club to the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Penalty Unit after determining the employer had failed to provide the required panel of physicians when it learned of the injury.10Tennessee.gov. Berdnik v. Fairfield Glade Community Club, Appeals Board Opinion
The Wyndham Timeshare Closure Is a Separate Matter
Club Wyndham Fairfield Glade is one of seven Wyndham timeshare resorts set to cease operations by December 31, 2025. The resort association is pursuing a property sale and has filed complaints against all members to secure legal authority to complete the transaction. Wyndham said maintenance fees would not be charged for 2026, and owners can either swap their deeded interest for Club Wyndham Access points or decline the swap and receive net proceeds from the sale.11Club Wyndham. Your Resort Portfolio Refresh This is separate from the community club and the Attorney General’s inquiry, though the two entities share geography: Wyndham owned roughly 1,200 of the community’s undeveloped lots as of late 2024.4Yahoo News. FGCC Membership Vote Amending Covenants
Current Status
The Attorney General’s investigation remains open as of mid-2026, and no enforcement actions or findings have been publicly announced. The board has retained outside counsel and paused public communications about governance matters while it responds to the state’s document requests. Property owners have been suing over Fairfield Glade governance since the early 1980s, and the questions driving today’s inquiry run along familiar lines: how much power the declarant holds, how the board accounts for it, and what recourse members have when they disagree.