The president of a petroleum firm that's run afoul of securities regulators has court judgments against him of nearly $500,000 for gambling debts in Las Vegas and a faulty septic system in London, The Free Press has learned.
As Onco Petroleum Inc. announced yesterday the immediate "departures" of five board members -- including a former NHL star and a prominent realtor -- details were emerging of personal default judgments against company president Robert Vanier, who is banned from trading shares of Onco.
The Las Vegas judgment totals $441,000. Another, for $52,200, is for failing to repair a home he sold in late 2006 in swank St. John Estates in Arva.
Vanier's firm failed to file an annual report for 2007 so the Ontario Securities Commission banned him and 10 other company directors from trading in Onco shares until that is done. The company, which went public and was listed on the junior CNQ stock exchange last November at $5 a share, closed yesterday at 34 cents.
The London-based company, established in 2002 to reactivate natural gas and oil deposits in Southwestern Ontario and Michigan with new technology amid high energy prices, is described as a high-risk investment.
Onco has issued 163 million shares and has raised about $22 million in working capital.
Vanier declined to comment on his personal legal woes and could not be reached about yesterday's departures from Onco's board.
"That's (details of the judgments) my private life and I have no comment on that," he said. "It's my personal life. I am not a politician."
On the corporate side, he has insisted the delay in filing Onco's annual report is because of a switch in accounting offices it uses. The accounting firm has blamed Onco for being late.
Officials in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas confirmed this week MGM Grand Hotel recently won the judgment against Vanier.
The casino published a notice last December in a Toronto newspaper that it was suing Vanier. The suit was filed July 11, 2007.
Damages awarded to the hotel-casino were $340,000 for the debt itself, another $87,524 in interest, $10,117 in costs and $3,500 for administration.
Existence of the Las Vegas suit was discovered by Jag Siva, a business executive, as he battled with Vanier over the home Siva bought from him in late 2006. The newspaper notice of the MGM lawsuit used 78 Sir James Court as Vanier's address. But Vanier was no longer there and Siva said he alerted Las Vegas court officials to that fact.
Siva and his wife, Loretta Seevaratnam, bought the home, which backs onto a pond, for about $750,000. But they were disturbed by wetness in the backyard apparently caused either by a faulty septic system or irrigation system, or both.
Vanier agreed in writing to fix the problem and the buyers held back $25,000. But when Vanier failed to act as promised, they took him to court several months later.
It took eight attempts to serve him with the court papers before a process server concluded Vanier was evading service, said Siva's lawyer, Robert Haas.
A default judgment of $50,000 and $2,200 in costs was registered against him, a finding Vanier later appealed.
Vanier's appeal was rejected by Justice William Jenkins, who ruled the businessperson was "aware of this action" and "was clearly seeking to evade service."
"The defendant Vanier has a law degree," Jenkins noted as he tossed out his appeal and compelled Vanier to pay up. "He signed a written undertaking on or about Nov. 1, 2006, to repair or replace the septic system on the plaintiff's property. He did not fulfil that undertaking and he has failed to provide evidence of a viable defence to this action."
For his part, Siva said he's moving to get the $25,000 holdback he paid into court and is looking for another $25,000 from the Onco president following his 18-month legal battle.
"We will collect it," Siva vowed.
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WHO'S LEAVING ONCO'S BOARD
Peter Dorrins, chief operator; Luc Robitaille, former NHL star; Bruce Sworik, president of the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors; William Delbaggio; and secretary Denis Frawley
