Ghost Town heir demands financial records

Oct. 11—A legal challenge by Ghost Town heir Jill Holland McClure could halt a proposed housing development in Maggie Valley proposed by purported developer Frankie Wood.

Wood has been simultaneously pursuing residential and RV developments in Maggie Valley over the past two years while also claiming to be the savior of Ghost Town amusement park. The two have become entangled as Wood says the development projects are what will raise the capital he needs to follow through with reopening Ghost Town.

Meanwhile, McClure became part owner of the endeavors as the heir to former Ghost Town owner Alaska Presley, who passed away in April of this year.

Wood and Presley formed a partnership, and upon Presley's passing, her interest in the partnership transfer to McClure, her niece. Wood has refused to acknowledge McClure's stake, however — which has since become the subject of a lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, McClure claims Ghost Town in the Sky, LLC, and Maggie Valley RV Park, LLC, both managed by Wood through a separate corporation, Coastal Development, are insolvent.

In addition to her lawsuit asking the court to dissolve both corporations, McClure is seeking a preliminary injunction asking that a receiver be appointed for both corporations and that financial records be immediately produced.

When McClure learned of an infrastructure proposal submitted to the town of Maggie Valley for homes proposed on Moody Farm Road, she filed the injunction to gain access to the corporations' finances. Under the operating agreement, McClure is to share equally in liabilities incurred by the corporations.

A preliminary injunction is a measure taken by the court to preserve the status quo of the parties during litigation, the legal document states.

Project advances

Hyatt Pipeline of Canton (of no relation to the reporter) provided a detailed cost estimate to the town of Maggie Valley for $578,000 for the "Wood project" on Moody Farm Road.

Maggie Valley Town Manager Vickie Best said Public Works Director Mike Mehaffey has approved the Hyatt Pipeline paperwork and staff is waiting on a bond or a letter of credit from a bank before the project can proceed.

This is standard procedure for infrastructure projects, Best said, and the bond or letter of credit will have to be approved by the town board. The bond backing the project has to be 1.25 times the project quote, she said, which is about $722,000.

In a court filing on Oct. 6, McClure contended she has been "frozen out" of any decisions being made for either of the corporations as Wood doesn't acknowledge her as a corporation member but simply as an "economic interest holder."

"Coastal Development's contempt for McClure's status as a member and her need for information and access to the real property also requires the court enter a preliminary injunction," the court action states.

The petition asks for McClure or another party to be named as a receiver so all information about the corporations and their finances can be protected and made available to members.

According to financial documents available to McClure before her aunt's death, Presley was the only member with financial assets in the corporations.

Neither corporation appears to be operating according to the terms of the agreement, the injunction states. In the case of Maggie Valley RV Park, plans have been laid to develop property on Moody Farm Road for permanent housing.

"Coastal Development may convey some or all of each company's property to third-parties or otherwise dissipate the assets of each company without McClure having the requisite information to ascertain damages and without McClure having the necessary means of recourse to stop a transfer," the document states.

The motion for a preliminary injunction follows an August lawsuit filed by McClure's attorney, Mary Euler of the law firm McGuire, Wood and Bissett, to dissolve both corporations because each is insolvent.

Wood's attorney, Russell McLean of Waynesville, successfully had the case moved to state business court, which it is scheduled for action in early November where McLean is petitioning to dismiss the complaint filed by Euler.

No action has been scheduled on Euler's request for a preliminary injunction.