Arrest Warrant Issued for Gary Combs

An arrest warrant has been issued for former Fayetteville developer Gary Combs.

The warrant was issued Monday by Washington County Circuit Court Judge Kim Smith, in conjunction with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Combs, 59, is wanted for being in contempt of court in an ongoing case against First State Bank in which he is the defendant.

A source familiar with the case told the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal Combs stopped making payments tied to a summary judgment awarded to First State Bank last year, and still owes more than $1 million. FSB’s original complaint, filed in January 2011, sought more than $2 million.

According to an order filed July 3 with the Washington County Circuit Clerk’s office, Combs failed to appear before Smith for hearings related to the case on three separate occasions — April 17, June 4 and June 25. According to the document, the evidence established that “Mr. Combs was able to attend these hearings, and Mr. Combs has presented no good excuse for failing to attend.”

Smith had previously found Combs in contempt for “willfully” failing to file a schedule of assets by March 29. Combs, according to the document, also failed to file a schedule of all real and personal property by June 18.

Smith is levying a fine of $500 per day against Combs — dated to June 26 — until he surrenders to authorities or appears in court.

Combs’ attorney, Darrell E. Davis Jr., did not return a message seeking comment.

Combs has been involved in lender-liability litigation — both as a plaintiff and defendant — with FSB and four other lenders in recent years. Fayetteville attorney Robert Ginnaven had been representing Combs in his case against FSB, but withdrew as counsel in March, citing a lack of cooperation by his client.

In a Jan. 6 email, Ginnaven wrote to Combs, “You need to let me know if you want me to do anything about this. If you don’t want to give them the info I don’t know how to defend it…”

That correspondence was a result of a Jan. 4 email sent to Ginnaven from Conner & Winters LLP, which represents FSB. Conner & Winters was seeking a verified schedule of Combs’ assets and property he claimed as exempt from the judgment against him. The deadline was Jan. 5.