Evel Knievel’s Estate Sued For $64 Million

CLEARWATER, FLA. (CN) - The estate of daredevil Evel Knievel has been sued by a promoter and movie studio executive seeking to collect on a 1981 judgment entered against Knievel after a notorious assault that took place in 1977.

Promoter Sheldon Saltman sued Knievel's widow, Krystal Knievel, in Pinellas County Court. With interest, he claims the amount owed by Knievel's estate has ballooned from an initial $12.75 million to just over $64.4 million.

On Sept. 21, 1977 Knievel approached Saltman on the lot at 20th Century Fox and attacked him with a baseball bat. Knievel was upset with how he had been portrayed in a book Saltman had written, called "Evel Knievel on Tour." The attack shattered Saltman's left arm and made headlines around the world.

In 1981 Saltman was awarded final judgment in state court in Los Angeles, a judgment he renewed in September 2000.

After Knievel's death in Clearwater on Nov. 30, 2007, Saltman let it be known that he intended to seek payment on the judgment. He told The Associated Press, "We are going hot and heavy after his estate," just days after Knievel died, and he filed a claim against the estate in a probate proceeding in late February.

This new lawsuit is independent of his probate claim, which is being contested by Knievel's estate.

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