Remember Kristian D. Nelson of England, the ex-con who along with his businesses was hit with a $43.6 million jury verdict in April?
Well, he has more legal troubles.
On Oct. 4, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen held Nelson in contempt of court for failing to hand over a list of his assets, accounts and holdings to attorneys for Richard F. Toll.
If you recall, a Pulaski County Circuit Court jury awarded $4.6 million to Toll, an elderly Little Rock man, from Nelson 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.
In his contempt order against Nelson, Griffen said that Nelson or his companies hadn’t responded to Toll’s attorneys’ requests, even though he had been ordered to do so.
“This Court’s Orders and admonition from the bench have gone ignored yet again by the Defendants,” Griffen wrote.
Griffen ordered the Pulaski County sheriff to take Nelson into custody and hold him in the Pulaski County Detention Center until he complied with the court’s order. As of Thursday, Nelson had not been detained.
Nelson received another legal blow last week when the Arkansas Court of Appeals dismissed his individual appeal of the judgment.
And back in August, the Court of Appeals dismissed Hawgz and I Sell’s appeal, so now the entire appeal has been dismissed.
“The Court of Appeals properly dismissed Mr. Nelson’s appeal of the $43.6 million fraud judgment in favor of Mr. Toll,” Toll’s attorney, David Wilson of Friday Eldredge & Clark of Little Rock, said via email. “We will continue our efforts to persistently pursue collection of that judgment, with or without Mr. Nelson’s cooperation.”
Nelson hasn’t paid anything toward the judgment. Nelson said in an October 2020 affidavit that he was a friend of Toll. “It has always been my express intention and priority to ensure Mr. Toll receives back more than he ever invested in me,” Nelson wrote. “That remains unchanged.”
Nelson said he plans to appeal the recent Court of Appeals decision. He also denied that he was in contempt of court.
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