The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Chief Justice has imposed a receiver over the hotel rental pool income and assets at a prominent Harbour Island resort amid an escalating dispute between the principal owner and some of its 41 condo owners.

Sir Ian Winder, in a July 2, 2026, verdict confirmed his namesake, Raymond Winder, the former Deloitte & Touche (Bahamas) managing partner, as receiver to take control of all rental revenue at Valentine’s Resort & Marina and how these monies are distributed after finding “the red flags” identified by condo unit owners appear “to have merit” at first sight.

The Order comes amid an increasingly acrimonious legal battle between Lee Prosenjak, Valentine’s principal owner, and Harbour Island Villas Condominium Phase One and Two - the management companies that operate the 41 condo units on their owners’ behalf. Sir Ian’s verdict details the claims and counter-claims flying between the two sides, which include allegations about non-payment of rental income and due fees; unpaid bills; and disconnection by Bahamas Power & Light (BPL).

However, Sir Ian’s ruling limits the receivership to a narrow focus on just the hotel rental pool income and associated assets plus those Valentine’s entities that have a “contractual relationship” with Harbour Island Villas. It appears to exclude other components, such as the resort, marina and restaurants, with the Chief Justice limiting Raymond Winder’s role to settling expenses such as utilities and taxes plus the payment of rental income to the relevant unit owners.

And Sir Ian also made clear the receiver is not empowered to take control of the four companies that comprise the Valentine’s Resort & Marina and their assets, and nor will he “have the power to carry on the trade or business” of any of these entities - Valentine’s Resort & Marina, Valentine’s Island Development Ltd, Harbour Island Villas Ltd and Potcake Pros Ltd.

Mr Prosenjak, in a statement responding to Tribune Business inquiries, said he and the Valentine’s Resort & Marina group of companies “welcome” the Supreme Court’s Order appointing the receiver because having an independent, “objective third party reviewing the facts is in everyone's best interest” given the protracted and deep-rooted nature of the dispute.

“While the order has been described as a limited receivership, in practice what it establishes is an independent financial review, narrowly focused on the entity handling HOA (Home Owner’s Association) assessments, owner payments, owner dues still owed to the resort, and the unreconciled accounting left over from previous ownership. It is an interim step in a longer process, not a final determination of anything,” he asserted.

“The matter before the court concerns a small number of units, most of which do not participate in the rental pool, and the accounting associated with their HOA dues. The resort itself, including the hotel, marina, restaurants, operate under a separate structure and continue serving guests as they have for years.

“After an extended period of disagreement, an objective third party reviewing the facts is in everyone's best interest. We have maintained detailed financial records and look forward to providing whatever the independent professional [Mr Winder’s] requests.”

Battle began after Harbour Island Villas, represented by Khalil Parker KC, the Bahamas Bar Association chairman, launched legal action against Mr Prosenjak and the four companies in the Valentine’s Resort & Marina group over how they were being operated and managed following his acquisition of the property. They grounded their lawsuit in claims of “oppression and unfair treatment”, citing the Companies Act’s section 280.

Asserting that the dispute began in August 2023, Harbour Island Villas and the condo owners opposing Mr Prosenjak alleged that he and Valentine’s failed to make due payments to themselves, their insurer and BPL. They added that, while Valentine’s ultimately “serviced some of its debts”, it had not paid the full sum due to the condo management firm including its $150,000 share of July 2024’s rental income revenue - which delayed “necessary and planned upgrades” to the roofs.

Further allegations were made about Valentine’s alleges failure “to account” to Harbour Island Villas for the rental income or amounts due to the latter for management and operation of the condos. This ultimately led to the condo management firm’s application to the Supreme Court for the appointment of a receiver over the entire Valentine’s group, although Sir Ian ultimately restricted his remit to just the hotel rental pool.

Citing “a recent threatened lapse of the condominiums’ insurance policy and the temporary disconnection of electricity” due to purported non-payment of the relevant bills by Mr Prosenjak and Valentine’s, Harbour Island Villas asserted that condo owners had been “arbitrarily excluded… from the use and enjoyment of the amenity areas including the swimming pool, gym, beach chairs and other amenities”.

Several unit owners provided affidavit evidence to back up Harbour Island Villas’ allegations. Mary Barroll, arguing that electricity and water disconnections “have undermined the stability and security” of the condo complex, alleged that she and other owners had been exposed to real property tax liabilities after being “arbitrarily excluded” from the rental pool and associated income.

The rental revenue is split 50/50 between the condo owners and Mr Prosenjak/Valentine’s. Sir Ian, summarising Ms Barroll’s evidence, wrote of her allegations: “Funds deducted from unit owners for utilities and insurance have not been properly applied. Premiums went unpaid for months, risking cancellation of insurance, and payments to vendors remain outstanding….

“Unit owners have not received rental revenues since July 2025, despite repeated demands. Complaints continue, and she fears irreparable harm to Valentines' financial viability.. She denied that the power outage was due to load shedding, asserting instead that it was caused by failure to pay the BPL bill. She added that $150,000 deducted was only paid after the commencement of the action.”

Michael Strange, Harbour Island Villas’ treasurer, accused Mr Prosenjak of “bullying tactics” and failing to respond to queries by the condo management firm’s Board. He alleged that a $150,000 assessment, deducted from owners’ rental earnings in June 2024, had not been remitted to a contingency fund controlled by the Valentine’s owner until January 2025, while producing an e-mail from agent Stuart Tavares to show the insurance was not in good standing.

John Nichols, meanwhile, claimed he was informed that 12 condo unit owners saw their rental income withheld by Valentine’s in 2025. “He was informed that Valentines' failure to pay power bills led to a temporary electricity cut by BPL, which also disabled the reverse osmosis system supplying fresh water. The generator was in disrepair and unable to minimise the disruption,” Sir Ian wrote.

However, Mr Prosenjak countered that, after acquiring Valentine’s Resort & Marina in early 2023, “he voluntarily waived over $180,000 in contractual property management fees and dedicated hundreds of hours to financial reconciliation and audit support, work that would ordinarily command professional fees exceeding $30,000”.

The Valentine’s chief said all relevant financial information was available to unit owners via an online portal, which they refused to access, and he rejected all accusations of financial mismanagement, refuting claims of non-payment of insurance premiums and BPL bills while “insisting that Harbour is manufacturing an accounting crisis”.

“Lee alleged that Mary Barroll harbours personal animus against him because his offer to acquire the resort was accepted over hers. He claimed that Barroll and her allies are using their control of Harbour's Board to orchestrate a takeover of the company and to fuel litigation not supported by the majority of members,” Sir Ian wrote of Mr Prosenjak’s evidence.

“Regarding the rental pool and amenity access, Lee explained that only unit owners in arrears were excluded or threatened with exclusion. He alleged that Barroll owed $40,000 in unpaid fees and Strange owed $20,000. Nevertheless, all unit owners have continued to enjoy amenity access despite breaches and non-payment. He argued that his conduct is neither extortionate nor capricious, stressing that collapse of the resort would harm his own investment.”

Two condo unit owners also backed Mr Prosenjak, adding that they had enjoyed “stronger rental performance, increased property value and a more professionally managed resort” since he took over its ownership.

Mr Nichols, though, refuted Mr Prosenjak’s claim that Ms Barroll harboured a grudge against him for beating her to Valentine’s Resort & Marina’s acquisition, adding that she and her husband, Wayne Albo, never made a formal purchase offer and only participated in preliminary discussions on a deal.

Sir Ian, in his verdict, wrote: “Both parties have advanced competing accounts of the state of the resort under Lee's management. While I note that the evidence remains untested by cross-examination, I am satisfied that there is sufficient material to demonstrate that delayed payments to Harbour, utility companies, insurers and unit owners, under Lee's management, have placed unit owners’ investments at risk.

“The extent of that risk is unclear, as Lee has not been forthcoming with information. I am not satisfied that Lee has made out his claim that the requested information was available to Harbour and unit owners who have refused to access it, or that no proper request for the information has been made. If what is alleged by Harbour is proven, it would amount to oppressive conduct which unfairly disregards the interests of Harbour and the unit owners.”

And the Chief Justice added: “At this preliminary stage, I find that the red flags identified by Michael Strange appear, prima facie, to have merit and warrant the appointment of a receiver on an interim basis. These red flags, albeit subject in some cases to dispute, include supplier payments extended beyond 30, 60 and even 90 days; missed payments to Harbour's insurance company on three occasions; critical suppliers cutting service, including BPL disconnecting power.”

Sir Ian added that an online booking agent, Booking.com, “suspended service in November 2025 due to late payment” while there was a “failure to pay unit owners their earnings or respond to enquiries; refusal to provide BPL invoices showing delinquent balances; failure to complete promised marina dock repairs despite claiming a $1m loan approval; resort receiving large advance deposits yet appearing short of cash during peak season; and refusal to provide monthly financial information to Harbour's Board.”

However, Sir Ian limited the terms of Raymond Winder’s appointment and imposed regular reporting requirements in a bid to minimise costs. Mr Prosenjak, meanwhile, in his statement to Tribune Business, said the condo owners and management company could have handled things differently.

“The process should have begun differently,” he argued. “The governing documents that bind all of us provide for mediation precisely so disagreements like this can be resolved co-operatively, and we would have welcomed that conversation before court intervention was sought. Still, an independent review is likely to accomplish much of what mediation was designed to do: A neutral professional examining the facts and helping the parties reach a common understanding.

“We also understand owners' frustration with rising costs. Those costs reflect realities facing every business in The Bahamas right now: Insurance premiums, labour, utilities and the particular challenges of keeping reliable power and water on Harbour Island. A neutral review of those numbers gives everyone a shared set of facts, which is the foundation any lasting agreement gets built on.

“As stated before, our objective is not conflict. It is clarity. We are committed to co-operating fully and expect this process to produce a constructive, long-term working relationship that benefits the resort, the home owners, our team members and the Harbour Island community.”