Mischa Barton is "heartbroken" about having to sue her Irish mother

Mischa Barton is “heartbroken” about suing her mother Nuala, who is orginally from Newry in Co Down.

The 29-year-old actress has filed court papers against her mom Nuala Barton for "loss of earnings" but is reportedly not happy about having to take such drastic measures against her.

A source said: "She is heartbroken by this, and she didn't want to do it. She hates the attention, but she didn't have a choice.

"When she said to her mom, 'I'm going to have to sue you for the rights to what I own,' her mom said, 'Fine, get out of the house. You will never sue us.' This was two years ago. And [Mischa] got the point where she said, 'I don't care.'"

Mischa - who claims her "greedy stage mother" kicked her out of her $7.8m home in Beverly Hills - is believed to have always had a "strained" relationship with her parent and is hoping the legal case will help her claim what she believes is the "financial freedom she deserves".

The source added to People magazine: "Her relationship with her mother has been strained for years.

"And Mischa has reached a point in her life where she is able to finally to take full control of her career and the financial freedom she deserves."

In a statement, Mischa's lawyer Alex Weingarten claimed previously: "From the outset, Nuala positioned herself to siphon her daughter's hard-earned money by purportedly acting as her talent manager - a role for which Nuala had absolutely no experience or training."