Santa Barbara hedge fund Pacificor – once headed by Michael Klein, who was killed in a plane crash in Panama in December 2007 – has been sued for $30 million by the one-time owners of Quality Home Loans.

The lawsuit joins hundreds of millions of dollars being sought in legal proceedings surrounding Pacificor and Klein’s estate.

John and Kitty Gaiser, former owners of Quality Home Loans, filed an amended complaint in the most recent lawsuit Nov. 19 in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The Gaisers’ lawsuit also names Michael Klein’s estate as a defendant.

A “hard money” mortgage lender, Quality Home Loans filed for bankruptcy last year shortly after Pacificor attempted to the buy the company. Pacificor eventually succeeded in buying Quality Home Loans while the lender was in Chapter 11 proceedings, the Gaisers said in their complaint.

The lawsuit alleges that Klein and Pacificor “misused a position of trust and control in order to attempt to take control of and to acquire – without compensation – John and Kitty Gaiser’s ownership of Quality Home Loans,” according to release issued by the Gaisers’ law firm.