Thirteen Glendale Yearound property owners have filed a civil lawsuit against their residential community owned by the Glendale Corp., along with its property owners association and the corporation’s majority owner.

Filed last month with the Cambria County Court of Common Pleas, the suit alleges that the Glendale Corp. has breached its contract with property owners and that its owner, Bill Barnhart, has acted against owners’ best interests in order to benefit himself.

Additionally, it claims the property owners association has failed to provide accounting information and regular financial statements, even to members of its own board.

Messages for Barnhart and the property owners association left with secretaries at the Glendale Yearound were not returned. A woman answering the phone said the association is only open Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays but that both its members and Barnhart were aware of requests for comment.

The 13 plaintiffs, represented by the Johnstown-based law firm Silverman, Tokarsky, Forman and Hill LLC, have filed claims of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of restrictive covenants, improper accounting and conversion against the three defendants.

Four of the five counts state that the plaintiffs have suffered financial damages in excess of $25,000, for a total of $100,000.

Lawyer Michelle Tokarsky said despite the six-figure price tag, her clients are more concerned with getting someone to listen to them.

“They tried to go through the chain of command and the property owners association board to get some things corrected that they thought would improve the community, bring it into compliance” with its own rules, she said. “They really got nowhere.”

The lawsuit states that the Glendale Corp., whose majority shareholder is Barnhart, has failed to uphold covenants, or guarantees, made to property owners as part of sales contracts.

“Under the terms of sales contracts, Glendale Corp. is responsible to provide all purchasers with an adequate sewer and stormwater management system,” the suit states.

Several residents have claimed roads throughout the Yearound were improperly built and do not drain properly, leading to frequent flooding. They’ve also alleged that both sewer and stormwater system lines were installed without proper permitting and engineering and fail to meet regulatory standards.

The community dealt with a widespread freezing issue earlier this year, and Reade Township Municipal Authority board members expressed concerns about water being sold to the Yearround.

Because of poor pipeline installation and maintenance, they worried much of the water would run into the ground, straining the authority’s pipes.

According to the lawsuit, Barnhart also has a controlling vote over the property owners association, giving him sole discretion over all decisions affecting the Yearround in a direct conflict of interest, given his ownership of the Glendale Corp.

Tokarsky said she thinks there are many more residents, and some developers, who are not happy with the state of Glendale Yearound.

“It’s not what was planned when everybody had this great vision of a recreational community,” she said.

Resident Christian Gohn, named as the first plaintiff, said he sat on the Glendale Yearound Property Owners Association board for three years, and in that time, he was never given access to financial documents.

“There’s nothing on payroll. You get a generic budget,” he said. “But in three years I was never allowed to see electric or phone bills” or payments broken down by line item.

The lawsuit also lists concerns over the Glendale Corp. for wrongful converting of common grounds contrary to the best interests of property owners, as well as failure to cite those whose properties have become eyesores.

Giving one example, Gohn said one of the other plaintiffs tried to sell their $250,000 home. A real estate agent showed it to a buyer, who made a cash offer. The agent allegedly took a wrong turn leading out of the Yearround and took the buyer into a poorly maintained mobile home section.

The buyer “withdrew their offer because of all the blight,” Gohn said. “It’s sad, it is really said.”

Gohn said he sued the property owners association two years ago after it rejected a request to build an addition to his shed. He said he was told the rules prohibited it.

“So I took pictures and provided over 50 instances of other illegally built or oversized sheds,” he said, but they still told him no. “I had to sue. … And they ended up settling and agreeing to change their rules. The rules are only enforced for certain people.”

Gohn said he knows there are more residents in the Yearround who would like to see things change and some have called to thank him and the others for taking a stand, but they won’t put their names on the lawsuit for fear of retaliation.

“If you complain, you’re a troublemaker,” Gohn said. “These people already hate me, so what’s the worst they can do?”

Tokarsky said a civil lawsuit is normally not the best route, but her clients felt like they had no other choice. She said they hope legal action will convince Glendale officials to be more transparent and solve some of the community’s problems.

She hopes both sides will be able to meet before the end of the year and begin working toward a resolution.

Mirror Staff Writer Kelly Cernetich is at 946-7520.