A controversial talk radio host and station owner from Kalispell lost another bid for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Thursday, two weeks after officials seized his assets and ousted him from the airwaves.

John Stokes, who owned the KGEZ radio station, represented himself as a pro se litigant during a motions hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Missoula. He asked for an additional 20 days to prepare for his arguments, saying legal paperwork critical to his case has remained locked inside the station since he lost control of his assets and was ushered off the premises on Sept. 24.

"It's impossible to have a fair proceeding," Stokes said. "All my court files remain in that building."

Bankruptcy Judge Ralph B. Kirscher, whose earlier legal rulings converted Stokes' Chapter 11 bankruptcy to Chapter 7 liquidation, refused to allow him any additional time and warned that he would deny the motions unless Stokes could convince him otherwise.

"The court has all my evidence," Stokes said. "So if you have to deny them, deny them."

Stokes' on-air legacy has been marked by controversy for years, with supporters extolling his anti-environmental views and critics condemning what they said were radical screeds. Stokes has made headlines by referring to environmentalists as Nazis and by burning green swastikas outside his station.

In recent years, however, Stokes has become best known for his role in various legal proceedings, including last year's $3.8 million defamation judgment against him; a jury ruled that Stokes knowingly made false on-air comments about neighboring business owners, Davar and Todd Gardner, and that he had done so with malicious intent.

The judgment sunk Stokes into debt, which, coupled with his previous financial difficulties with mortgage creditors and tax collectors, forced him to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. But questions quickly arose over his financial filings, which showed huge discrepancies in asset values, and trustees asked that his bankruptcy be converted to Chapter 7 liquidation, under which he would lose control of his assets.

Judge Kirscher eventually ruled that Stokes should be placed in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, writing in his decision that Stokes had failed to accurately disclose his assets to the court, had failed to meet financial reporting requirements, had failed to pay filing fees and had not filed state or federal income taxes for years.

"Literally millions of dollars of purported assets were omitted," Kirscher wrote, including lawsuits, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles and at least one boat. Stokes initially listed personal property assets of $148,000, for instance, but later amended that to more than $15 million.

"His declarations," the judge determined, "are not truthful."

Kirscher said Thursday that motions for reconsideration under Chapter 11 bankruptcy are "extremely limited" in their scope, and that Stokes had ample time to prepare for Thursday's hearing.

"I think given your intellect and knowledge of this case you've had adequate preparation to support your position in these matters," Kirscher said. "In any event, these motions for consideration are denied."

James H. Cossitt, a Kalispell attorney representing the Chapter 7 trustee in the matter, said the issues raised in Stokes' motions don't require any documentation and would "just be plowing old ground."

Stokes said he unsuccessfully sought representation from 45 different attorneys - including Cossitt - but has finally retained counsel from Atlanta who will be arriving in Montana next week.

Cossitt said the trustee will decide how best to liquidate the assets and repay those with a claim on Stokes.

Reporter Tristan Scott can be reached at 523-5264 or at tscott@missoulian.com.