An elderly Little Rock man wants the Arkansas Court of Appeals to toss an ex-con and his businesses’ appeal of a $43.6 million judgment.
If you recall, a Pulaski County Circuit Court jury awarded $4.6 million to Richard F. Toll against Kristian D. Nelson of England for compensatory damages and $39 million for punitive damages. The punitive damages also were tied to Nelson’s businesses, the Little Rock restaurant Hawgz Blues Café LLC and a used car company, I Sell 4 U Auto Sales LLC of North Little Rock.
Representing himself and his businesses, Nelson, who isn’t a licensed attorney, filed an appeal of the judgment.
But as Toll’s attorney pointed out in the motion to dismiss, a non-lawyer can’t represent corporate entities, meaning the appeal should be dismissed. Nelson also made other errors in filing the appeal, the filing said.
The state Court of Appeals is on its summer break and most likely won’t consider the motion until the fall.
Meanwhile, Toll is working to collect on the judgment.
“Mr. Nelson stated in an affidavit filed with the Court that he intended to pay Mr. Toll back more than he ever borrowed,” Toll’s attorney, David Wilson of Friday Eldredge & Clark of Little Rock, told Whispers via email. “He of course never did.”
Nelson “has paid nothing on the judgment, has moved and hidden his assets, and has now failed to follow a Court order to file his schedule of assets with the Court,” Wilson said. “He has failed to respond to post-judgment asset discovery as required.”
The lawsuit is entering its third year. In July 2020, Toll sued Nelson and said the alleged fraud started in September 2017, when Toll first lent Nelson $10,000 for Hawgz Blues Café, the suit said. Nelson then kept returning to Toll’s house on an almost weekly basis “with manipulative lies and fabrications to entice more and more money from Toll,” according to the suit. Nelson denied the allegation.
Stay tuned.
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