© Copyright AgMedia Inc
by BETTER FARMING STAFF
Ontario’s former pigeon king is fighting efforts to force him into personal bankruptcy.
On Wednesday, in a London Superior Court of Justice in Bankruptcy and Insolvency courtroom, Waterloo lawyer Steven Gadbois filed notice of Arlan Galbraith’s intention to dispute an application to declare him bankrupt.
Galbraith is the founder of Pigeon King International Inc., a Waterloo, Ontario-based company that sold pigeon breeding pairs for as much as $500 and bought back offspring for up to $50 each. Galbraith declared the business bankrupt last summer, leaving roughly 1,000 investors in Canada and the United States with worthless pigeons.
He was not present at court on Wednesday.
Galbraith is not only asking the court to dismiss the bankruptcy application, but also to repeal the Nov. 12 appointment of BDO Dunwoody as interim receiver. BDO is also PKI’s bankruptcy trustee.
If there’s no bankruptcy, “there should be no receivership,” Gadbois said after the hearing, which lasted less than five minutes.
Today’s hearing left the interim receivership against Galbraith in place. On Dec. 9, lawyers representing both sides plan to ask the judge for a special appointment hearing.
That hearing likely won’t take place until the new year, said Jennifer Quick, a London-based lawyer working with Frank Highley, who is representing the creditor, Jim Wiersma.
Wiersma, of Fishersville, Ontario, is one of four creditor-appointed inspectors in the PKI bankruptcy. He claims there’s nearly $23,000 outstanding on a pigeon-breeding contract signed by Galbraith, personally.
While dealing with the Pigeon King International bankruptcy, BDO trustee Susan Taves identified approximately 450 breeders who may have had contracts with Galbraith personally and weren’t included as creditors in the corporate bankruptcy.
On Wednesday, Gadbois said once he becomes familiar with the file he will be in a better position to advise his client. He says Galbraith has some defenses available to him and will have to decide what he wants to do.
Waterloo Regional Police have conducted a lengthy investigation into the Pigeon King’s business practices and are scheduled to meet with the Crown prosecutor next week to decide whether any criminal charges will be laid. BF
© Copyright AgMedia Inc
PKI summary
Comments
The coo has been taken out of the Squab industry and in a cruel way. Galbraith is beseiged and broke it seems, and can't build his meat plant. All the adults who shared in his vision, bought pigeon pairs and clambored for more, now want blood.
Imagine if PKI had progressed as planned? Quite a revolution in agriculture I should think.
COO-el and CROO-el
Submitted by an online visitor on December 5, 2008 - 1:38pm.
The coo has been taken out of the Squab industry and in a cruel way. Galbraith is beseiged and broke it seems, and can't build his meat plant. All the adults who shared in his vision, bought pigeon pairs and clambored for more, now want blood.
Imagine if PKI had progressed as planned? Quite a revolution in agriculture I should think.
dave - CrimeBustersNow
Yes, just imagine thousands and 10's of thousands more farm families losing their life savings and their farms all over the world and the collapse, or near collapse of the agricultural industry in exactly the same way way Madoff's Ponzi, and the Ponzi schemes in the Financial Sector of the economy have basically destroyed a massive "chunk" of the economy. What I have been predicting for years.
Yes imagine, just imagine.
dave - CBNow
I was a breeder that got caught up in this. I had checked him out through breeders before I bought in.When you see some one building $ 75,000 dollar barns and shows you checks on their returns, maybe this is an -OK- business. I only invested $20,000 dollars. But it was all that I had.I gave the birds away, and they were eaten. I'm still paying for the loan of $15,000 out of my pension check. I have to do without a lot of things in order to pay off the loan, my wife will have to wait for some new teeth. I pray that the investors will get some money returned to them. Arlan must be real proud of him self. It left me not trusting anyone . To buy an ice cream cone-- I investigate for fraud first, and how are they going to rip me off.
Bitter but still LOV the LORD JDH
Post new comment