Appeal Deal

Former Wal-Mart Stores Inc. sourcing executive John Ryan just doesn’t know when to call it quits.

In July, Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren tossed out the $20 million lawsuit Ryan filed in February against his ex-wife, Jane Ryan, and her former attorney, Doug Gramling, of Fayetteville-based Estes Gramling and Estes LLC.

In the suit, Ryan claimed his ex-wife and Gramling conspired to wreck his business relationships and, thus, his ability to make money in the cutthroat world of international retail. In the meantime, he’d already filed a $17 million bankruptcy in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.

After taking a look at the case, Karren lowered the boom.

The judge said Ryan didn’t have the legal standing to file the suit because he filed it as an individual, not as a trustee of the bankruptcy. On those grounds, Karren dismissed the suit without prejudice.

The judge also said Ryan waited too long to file the suit, thereby exceeding the statute of limitations. In his initial complaint, Ryan said Gramling had injured his ability to do business with an associate in Canada. Even if that were the case, the judge said Ryan had a three-year window beginning in December 2010 to file the claim, but missed it when he filed the suit in February 2014. On those grounds, Karren dismissed the case — with prejudice.

Speaking to the court, Karren said his ruling “puts a nail in the coffin” of Ryan’s case.

So what does Ryan do? Described by a former business associate as a “little man with a Napoleon complex,” Ryan filed a notice of appeal. He wants to bypass the Arkansas Court of Appeals and go straight before the Arkansas Supreme Court.

Why is Whispers not surprised?