Heston sued by neighbours over mudslide

Neighbours who live down the hill from Charlton Heston’s home are suing the actor, alleging their property was damaged two years ago when heavy rain sent hillside debris pouring into their home.

The lawsuit filed on Wednesday by Jerome and Flora Heilweil alleges “slope failure” on Heston’s Los Angeles property caused substantial damage to their home in January 2005, diminishing the market value of their property.

The couple seeks at least $1.2m (€916,000), as well as punitive damages.

Jeff Briggs, Heston’s lawyer, said the actor owns 10% of the hillside while the Heilweils own the rest.

“It’s their hillside,” Briggs said. “What went into their yard, into their house is 90% their hillside, their mud, their dirt.”

The neighbours and their insurance companies have been battling for almost two years, Briggs said. At one point, the two sides sat down for mediation but the matter was unresolved.

Torrential rains caused the mudslide, and Briggs said his client should not be held responsible for any damage to a neighbour’s property.

He said the mudslide was among hundreds that occurred in the area during a particularly rainy season.

Patty Glaser, a lawyer for the Heilweils, said the couple did not want to comment on the lawsuit.

“Our pleadings speak for themselves,” Glaser said.

The Hestons have lived at the top of Mulholland Drive since 1959 in “the house that ‘Ben-Hur’ built,” according to Heston’s publicist Bill Powers.

He said the actor built the home with earnings from the film that also earned him an Oscar for best actor.

Heston, 83, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, also received an honorary Oscar for his humanitarian efforts in 1978. His other notable films include The Ten Commandments, Planet of the Apes and The Omega Man.

He went on to promote conservative causes and was president of the National Rifle Association from 1998 to 2002. His involvement with the group made him an unwitting cast member in another Oscar winner, Michael Moore’s gun-control critique Bowling for Columbine.