Image Credit: FACEBOOK: Twin Anchors

The family company of Shuswap MLA Greg Kyllo is embroiled in a messy court battle over $1 million worth of houseboats bought by an Alberta investor.

The spat over revenues generated by the boats started five years ago but appeared to have escalated into pricey ligation after the MLA's brother had some choice words with the investor.

Those words have likely cost both sides tens of thousands of dollars in lawyers.

In a Mar. 8 BC Supreme Court decision, only recently published, Justice Sheri Ann Donegan said the incident in the summer of 2021 involving Todd Kyllo, "seems to have set the stage for the years of litigation that has followed."

The judge doesn't say what precisely took place only calling it an "unfortunate incident."

It's not the only court case the MLA's company is involved in. 

In July, a Revelstoke company began legal action arguing Kyllo's firm hadn't returned a $90,000 deposit after it pulled out of a modular home project.

The story of the houseboats goes back more than 15 years when Alberta businessman Calvin Verbeek spent $500,000 on two houseboats from Kyllo's family company, Twin Anchors.

Verbeek paid in full and came to a deal with the Sicamous company that it would rent the boats out and keep a 60% cut.

A year later in 2008, he splashed out $700,000 on another houseboat, the Janice Mae, this time financing the purchase through the BC United politician's company.

The boats were all docked at Twin Anchors Marine and rented to tourists.

All appears to have gone well for a decade until around 2018 when both parties got into a dispute over the money the houseboats were supposed to be generating.

In the court documents, both sides make allegations about the management contracts the parties have in place.

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The decision says Verbeek alleges that Kyllo's firm still owes it money for part of the 2018 season and all of the 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons. It also claims the houseboat company increased the percentage it would take from 60% to 70%.

In court filings, Kyllo's company say that a 2019 provincial government audit found the two parties didn't have signed contracts in place and because of this, PST was payable on the purchase of the boats.

The houseboat company then told Verbeek it would be sending revenues straight to the government to cover the PST owing.

The situation spiralled when in the summer of 2021, Verbeek sent a friend to the Twin Anchors dock to pick up the houseboats.

Court documents say the MLA's brother, Todd Kyllo, told Verbeek that the boats were under contract and had been booked out to vacationers all summer and he needed six months' notice.

Verbeek says Todd relayed this message in a "somewhat hostile manner."

Kyllo admitted that "various unfortunate words were exchanged" in a court filing.

One week later Verbeek started legal proceedings.

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In the three years since, the two sides have been in and out of court fighting over the boats and money.

Verbeek wants the boats back, but Twin Anchors says there's money owed for storage and insurance and wants to sell it.

In August 2023 the court granted Verbeek an Order of Possession.

"The Boats are to be picked up by an authorized representative of the Plaintiff with advance notice," the order reads.

However, when a houseboat moving company arrived last fall to move all three boats, the water at Shuswap Lake was too low.

Only two of the boats were able to be moved, leaving the large, $700,000 Janice Mae at the dock.

With a boat left, behind Kyllo's company then told Verbeek it had to pay $20,000 in storage and insurance costs or it would sell the boat to recoup its costs.

"Verbeek has not agreed to pay those costs," Justice Donegan said in the decision.

The Albertan then headed back to the courtroom to get an injunction barring Twin Anchors from selling the boat until such a time when the water level at the lake was high enough and it could retrieve the vessel.

In March this year, Justice Donegan granted Verbeek until June 15 to pick up the houseboat and allowed Twin Anchors to charge "reasonable costs" for storage and insurance.

Greg Kyllo told iNFOnews.ca the boat was picked up just in time for the June 15 deadline. 

Kyllo said he didn't know why they hadn't picked the boat up earlier and it was on land they could have picked it up with a truck and trailer.

"The boat has always been available for them to pick up, it was their choice not to move it," Kyllo said. 

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The MLA said he had little involvement with the family company and didn't know a lot about the matter.

While all three boats are now back with the Albertan owners, three years after the initial court proceedings began, Justice Donegan noted that the original issues of the purchase and rental contracts hadn't yet been resolved, suggesting the litigation will likely continue.

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