William H. Macy Accused of Attempting to Use the ‘Celebrity’ Card in $400k Battle With Neighbor in Effort to Keep Court Documents 'Confidential'
Jul. 14 2023, Published 11:45 a.m. ET
William H. Macy has been accused of trying to keep the public from being able to view court documents as part of his bitter battle with his neighbor, RadarOnline.com has learned.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, the Shameless star’s neighbor, Pierce Brown, asked for a hearing over the issue.
Brown said Macy has “asserted that because he is a celebrity and because the media have shown interest in this case, all discovery should be deemed confidential.”
The neighbor said he disagrees with this position and wants the court to make a decision on the matter.
As RadarOnline.com first reported, earlier this year, Brown sued Macy demanding $600k in damages after the actor’s gardeners of cutting down his trees without permission.
The alleged incident went down in December 20212 when Brown was on vacation.
- William H. Macy’s Neighbor Denies Causing ‘Shameless’ Star Emotional Distress in $600k War Over Tree Massacre
- 'Shameless' Star William H. Macy Sues His Neighbor in War Over Trees, Says He Suffers Emotional Distress Over Ordeal
- Timber! 'Shameless' Star William H. Macy Fighting $600k 'Emotional Distress' Lawsuit Over Tree Massacre, Neighbor Claims He Hacked Them Down Without Permission
“Macy’s workers then destroyed and removed or seriously damaged several healthy, decades-old mature pine trees and other vegetation,” the suit read. The neighbor said he went to Macy’s home to confront the actor.
During the conversation, Brown said Macy admitted his team had cut down the trees.
“The conduct of Macy and the other Defendants also caused Brown a loss of property value, loss of use and enjoyment of his property, loss of privacy, increase in noise, as well as emotional, irritation, annoyance and discomfort,” the suit read.
It added, “The actions of Macy and his workers destabilized the hillside by killing the trees and vegetation, and thereby, killing the root systems of the trees and vegetation that helped support the hillside's stability. Defendants further damaged the gate connecting the two properties.”
Brown demanded damages claiming he was forced to “undertake significant expense to restore stability to the hillside that was lost by the Defendants destruction of and damage to Brown’s pine trees and other vegetation.”
Macy denied all allegations of wrongdoing in the lawsuit. He then filed a countersuit against his neighbor.
The actor claimed his neighbor’s trees moved following a heavy rainstorm. He said the trees posed a danger to “crashing into” his roof. He admitted cutting down the trees because he feared for his family’s safety.
Macy demanded damages from Brown for failing to maintain his property which led to him experiencing emotional distress and loss of property value.
Both cases are ongoing.
The "celebrity" card accusation comes years after Macy's wife Felicity Huffman served time for her role in the college admissions scandal — where prosecutors accused her of paying money to college fixer Rick Singer to cheat on her daughter Sophia's SAT test.