Steven D. Peterson

Real Estate, Resort and Hotel, Planned Communities and Condominiums, Real Estate Development, Zoning and Land Use

Steven D. Peterson is a partner in the Real Estate Department, Practice Leader of the Resort and Hotel Group, and a member of the Planned Communities and Condominiums, Real Estate Development, and Zoning and Land Use Groups.

For more than 30 years, Mr. Peterson has concentrated his practice in resort and hospitality law, including resort development, timesharing, fractionals, private residence club and destination club creation and operation, condominiums, resort finance, resort-related commercial real estate transactions, planned community development, community associations, ski resorts, golf course development, and zoning.

Representative Matters

• Represented an international hospitality company on timeshare and fractional programs located in the United States and Canada, including multiple single-site project issues and implementing documentation for various vacation ownership products
• Represented an international hospitality company on a number of resort developments in North America, including finance securitization opinions for various projects in the western United States
• Represented a privately held corporation in the acquisition of a multi-site publicly held national and international vacation club with a transaction value of $700 million; provided due diligence review and analysis of club structure, project documents, and timeshare-related issues with continuing representation related to specialized timeshare issues, including club structure, registration, and licensing
• Represented one of the leading consultants and service providers to the fractional and Private Residence Club industry regarding the creation of multiple fractional projects throughout the United States and in foreign countries such as Mexico and Italy; other services provided include the creation and registration of exchange companies to facilitate owner exchanges in high-end private residence clubs and the creation of a company to provide mortgage and financial services to buyers of fractional interests
• Represented a major destination ski and summer resort development in Utah in the creation and development of a master planned community containing multiple single-site condominium hotels, traditional condominiums, fractionals, and timeshare projects
• Serves as special timeshare counsel for an international hotel chain in its vacation ownership product offerings in Park City, Utah, and Las Vegas
• Serves as special timeshare counsel for a publicly held company regarding its timeshare documentation, registration, and licensing issues for projects in Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Missouri, and Illinois
• Handles registration of timeshare products with state regulatory agencies for sales in all western states and several eastern states for a variety of timeshare and fractional developers
• Serves as special counsel for a wide variety of fractional/private residence club developers in Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, Idaho, North Carolina, Illinois, Florida, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, California, Arizona, and Colorado
• Serves as real estate counsel for one of Utah's largest ski resorts in connection with a variety of hotel, vacation ownership, and related hospitality issues, as well as zoning, entitlement, and traditional real estate development matters
• Serves as special counsel for a number of developers creating condominium hotel projects in Utah, California, Wisconsin, and Michigan
• Serves as special counsel for a variety of Destination Clubs offering a network of luxury vacation accommodations

Pro Bono Experience

Filed multiple civil actions to protect an immigrant and her 9-year-old daughter from physical and sexual abuse as well as fraud and theft perpetrated by another immigrant

Professional Activities

American Resort Development Association (ARDA), member since 1977; Federal Issues Committee, Audit Committee, and Co-chair of the Fractional and Private Residence Club Forum

Recognition & Accomplishments

Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, real estate law, 2008-2011

Recipient, ARDA's Circle of Excellence Volunteer Award, 2006

Publications

"Fractionals in the Midst of the Recovery," Developments magazine, March 2011

"West Coast Fractionals," Perspective Magazine North America, January/February 2011

"Important Industry Definitions," Developments magazine, October 2006

Speaking Engagements

"Timeshare Regulatory Roundtable," ARELLO Annual Conference, October 18, 2008

Moderator, "Fractional and Private Residence Forum, Resort Hotel and Practice Plan," ARDA 2008 Convention & Exposition, April 6-10, 2008

"Critical Legal Issues in the Fractional Interest Industry," Ragatz Fractional Interest Symposium, March 19, 2008

"Understanding Vacation Products and Key Regulatory Issues," ARELLO Annual Conference, September 14-17, 2007

"Private Residence Club and Destination Club Industry Regulation:  An Overview, Latest Developments and Overlooked Issues," Information Management Network Destination Club and Private Residence Club Industry Symposium, April 18-19, 2007

Moderator, "Fractional and Private Residence Forum, Development and Sales and Marketing Issues in Fractional Projects," ARDA 2007 Convention & Exposition, March 25-29, 2007

Moderator, "Fractional Exchange Interactive Session," Fractional Interest Conference, Ragatz Associates, March 5-7, 2007

"Understanding Destination Clubs," ARELLO Annual Conference 2006, September 24-27, 2006

"Destination Clubs: Issues and Answers," 13th Annual Resort Development Conference, August 5-7, 2006

"Leisure Real Estate Product Characteristics," Product Design Interactive Panel, Fractional Interest Symposium, Ragatz Associates, May 17-19, 2006

"Luxury Destination Clubs and the Attempt to Escape Timeshare Regulation," 2006 Section of Real Property Probate and Trust, American Bar Association, May 3-5, 2006

Moderator, "Fractional, Private Residence Club and Luxury Forum," ARDA 2006 Convention & Exposition, March 26-30, 2006

Community Activities

Volunteer church-related service

Board Memberships

ARDA International Foundation

Brigham Young University, J. Reuben Clark Law School (J.D. 1976)
Member, Brigham Young Law Review

Brigham Young University (B.A. 1971, M.A. 1973)

Utah