South Bay Postscripts : A Look Back at People and Events in the News : Truce Declared In Colonel’s War With Paperboy

Last year, Ohio paperboy Eric Tolman was the focus of nationwide headlines after he and an Air Force lieutenant colonel traded lawsuits over a disputed $77 bill.

Now both lawsuits and newspapers are a “thing of the past,” said Eric, 17, a high school senior in Beavercreek, Ohio, a Dayton suburb.

Eric, who no longer is a paperboy, and his parents reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement this year with Lt. Col Joseph Driscoll, who is based at the Los Angeles Air Force Station in El Segundo.

Eric Tolman filed a small-claims suit in 1985 against Driscoll after repeatedly trying to collect payment for delivering the Dayton Daily News while the officer was stationed at nearby Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

Eric won, but by then Driscoll had moved to the South Bay--outside the Ohio municipal court’s jurisdiction.

Eric’s father, Thomas Tolman, sent Driscoll a copy of the court’s decision and a letter requesting payment. When no payment was sent, Eric wrote a letter explaining the situation to Driscoll’s employer, the Los Angeles Air Force Station.

In the letter, Eric said, “I also thought you might be interested in knowing that an officer who probably has access to military secrets is dishonest and has gone out of his way to cheat a 14-year-old boy out of $77.”

Driscoll filed a $150,000 lawsuit last September in an Ohio court against Eric and his parents, saying that the letter contained malicious statements that damaged his reputation and career.

He said that he had paid the newspaper company directly and did not owe Eric any money, according to court records.

The out-of-court settlement forbids either side from discussings its terms. The Tolmans’ attorney, Phillip Beard, said in January--before an agreement was reached--that Driscoll had offered a settlement.

Driscoll declined to comment. Thomas Tolman would only say, “We’re pleased with the outcome of it.”