Jetride Partners File Suit
Last updated Wednesday, November 19, 2008 7:12 PM CST in Business
By THE MORNING NEWS
SPRINGDALE -- Bill Schwyhart and Robert Thornton, minority owners in Pinnacle Jetride, filed a lawsuit against Ajax LLC and John Calamos, majority owner, on Monday in Benton County Circuit Court.
The complaint cited eight separate counts against Calamos including fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and civil conspiracy.
The suit states that both Schwyhart and Thornton have incurred substantial monetary damages as a result of the breach of contract by Calamos and the Nov. 7 closing of the charter air service they started in 2003.
Illinois billionaire Calamos became the majority owner of the charter air provider Jetride last December, as Johnelle Hunt and Tim Graham sought to divest from the partnership.
As of December, Hunt owned 35 percent of the airline, Graham 4 percent, Schwyhart 32 percent, and Thornton 32 percent, according to the filing.
The group purchased about $200,000 of assets from Ajax Air, a company owned by Calamos, which was on the brink of bankruptcy and structured a deal to bring Calamos on as a majority shareholder in Pinnacle Jetride a year ago.
The lawsuit states Calamos was to contribute $7.5 million to Pinnacle Jetride, guarantee the company's $110 million in debt agreements in his name, releasing the former partners from liability, and raise added capital to pay both of the remaining partners a minimum of $7.5 million.
The suit claims none of those terms have been completed.
Schwyhart said the charges against Calamos are serious and legitimate. He said that neither he nor Thornton have been notified by Calamos that the company has surrendered its flight certificate.
This is second suit against Calamos for not fulfilling his end of a binding legal agreement signed by the partners with respect to his ownership in the airline. Hunt and Graham filed a similar suit against Calamos that includes both Schwyhart and Thornton.
Attempts to reach Calamos at his Chicago office were unsuccessful.
Reader Comments (No comments posted.)
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.
Not already registered?
