Pinnacle Air Partners Dispute
Last updated Friday, August 1, 2008 5:49 PM CDT in Business
By The Morning News
Johnelle Hunt and Tim Graham on Thursday sued Pinnacle Air LLC and partners John P. Calamos, Bill Schwyhart and Robert Thornton alleging breach of contract and deceptive trade practices in regards to the charter airline the group co-owns.
A lawsuit filed in Benton County Circuit Court said the an investment agreement was made between the parties on Dec. 5, 2007 that had not been honored.
Hunt, Graham, Schwyhart and Thornton were formerly linked as the Pinnacle Group and joint owners of Pinnacle Air - now Jetride, a charter airline based in Rogers.
Last October, the group expanded the airline by acquiring the assets of Colorado-based Aspen Air out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Calamos, a Chicago investor, was brought in as a fifth partner in the airline and agreed to seek refinancing of the business venture.
The recent court filing said the 2007 investment agreement required Calamos to refinance and personally guarantee two-thirds of the expanded company's debt not to exceed $15 million within 90 days of the signed contract. The agreement released Hunt and Graham as guarantors for the company's debt, according to the suit.
Schwyhart and Thornton were to personally guarantee the remaining balance of the refinanced debt as required by prospective lenders, not to exceed $15 million, the filing said.
The plaintiffs claim that eight months after the deal was signed, the defendants have not refinanced airline's debt and absolved Hunt and Graham from liability.
Plaintiffs are asking the court for damages caused by the defendants not honoring the agreement as well as legal fees incurred.
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