Ant Anstead asked a judge to toss the six-figure default judgment entered against him over an alleged business deal gone bad, Us Weekly can exclusively report.
On October 16, a lawyer representing Anstead and his business partner, Jenson Button, filed court documents as part of the lawsuit brought by a man named Timothy Tasker.
Anstead, 46, and Button, 45, accused Tasker, and his legal team, of utilizing a “deceptive scheme to obtain a judgment by default.”
As Us first reported, a judge awarded Tasker $119,000 from Anstead and Button on September 23. Anstead and Button did not respond to the lawsuit, despite Tasker claiming to have served them.
In new court documents, Anstead and Button claim they were not properly served. Anstead claimed Tasker “deliberately made service attempts” on an old address where he no longer lives. Anstead said Tasker never tried to serve the legal docs at Anstead’s work despite knowing the address.
The television star and his business partner said they only learned about the lawsuit in early October. They asked for the default judgment to be vacated and for permission to respond to the lawsuit.
The duo also pointed out that the contract at issue was between Tasker and their company, Radford Motors, which is in the middle of bankruptcy. They said they were not parties to the contract.
They argued that Tasker was aware of the bankruptcy and knew he was prevented from pursuing his claims against Radford due to the bankruptcy still being worked out in court.
Anstead said, “Unless enforcement of the September 23 … default judgment is stayed, irreparable harm will result to individual defendants Anstead and Button, who risk unlawful execution and damage to their credit and reputations from a judgment entered without their knowledge or participation.”
In a declaration, Anstead noted he, along with Button and a few others, launched Radford in 2020.
He said the business model was to collaborate “with its network of top-of-industry vendors to help produce limited runs of ultra-exclusive bespoke vehicles.”
Anstead claimed the car at issue in the lawsuit filed by Tasker was Radford’s modern take on the 1969 Lotus Type 62 Race Car.”
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He added, “The [car] ranges in price from $550,000 to $1,000,000.” Anstead said Tasker entered into a letter of intent with Radford to buy the car and paid a deposit of $101,000.
Anstead said in early 2021 the company was experiencing conflict with a board member who demanded repayment of a $2 million note. The board member filed a lawsuit against Radford. Anstead believes the board member hired a lawyer who had other Radford customers contacted to assist the board member. He believes one of the people contacted was Tasker.
A judge has yet to rule on the matter. A hearing has been set for November.
Tom Vance, a lawyer for Tasker, tells Us, “These are the same two people who looked my client in the eye and promised to build him a car and took $100,000 from him. They never even started a car and still have his $100,000. So I would urge you not to give much weight to statements contending my client and my firm were deceptive in any way.”
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As Us first reported, Anstead and Button were ordered to pay Tasker $101,000 in damage, $17,000 in interest, and other fees for a grand total of $119,357.
Tasker brought his lawsuit in July 2024. The suit was originally filed against Radford but Tasker later added Anstead and Button as defendants, and then dismissed Radford as a defendant.
In his suit, Tasker claimed he met Anstead in April 2022. He alleged Anstead told him about a new car Radford was working on.
Tasker said he paid the $101,000 deposit but changed his mind and asked for his deposit back in October 2022. He said he was promised a full refund by the end of 2022, but he claimed it never came despite repeated demands.
In the court docs, Tasker claimed Anstead and his business partners failed to deliver a single version of the car to customers.
Tasker’s lawyer alleged, “[Tasker] is informed and believes that to date Defendants have delivered no [custom cars] and that several people had submitted deposits similar to and in excess of the deposit paid by [Tasker] and that those similarly situated individuals have likewise requested the return of their deposits without success.”
Before being dismissed, Radford Motors denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
A rep for Anstead previously told Us, “Mr. Anstead and Mr. Button were completely unaware of the alleged judgment. Neither was served with the complaint in the lawsuit. Neither received notice of any proposed request for entry of default or default judgment. Thus, assuming a judgment was entered … it was not pursuant to any appropriate or required due process or procedure.”
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Radford was a car company that Anstead and Formula One driver Button, and various others, revived in 2020.
Radford filed for bankruptcy in October 2024. In his recent filing, Anstead claimed the board member’s claims were the catalyst for the company filing for bankruptcy.
On October 24, 2024, Anstead spoke out about the bankruptcy, stating he was “fully committed” to Radford despite the financial “challenges.”
He said, “Radford is implementing strategic organizational enhancements while maintaining full operational continuity. I remain fully committed to advancing Radford’s vision and growth. My role and dedication to Radford’s success continue unchanged.”
In May, the Chapter 11 bankruptcy was converted to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The case is ongoing.
As Us previously reported, on October 11, Anstead, who is in a relationship with actress Renee Zellweger, recently reunited with his ex-wife Christina Haack at their son Hudson‘s school event.
