A judge has agreed to the former 'Charmed' star's request to delay trial for her 2017 case against Kenneth Hellie and his firm on the basis of stress due to the Woolsey Fire effect.
- December 19, 2018
AceShowbiz - Actress Alyssa Milano has won a small victory in her $10 million (£7.9 million) lawsuit with her former manager after a judge granted her request to postpone it.
The "Charmed" star sued accountant Kenneth Hellie and his firm, Hellie, Hoffer & Co. last year (17), accusing them of forging her signature on cheques, not paying overdue bills and taxes, and advising her to invest in businesses he also had a financial stake in, without disclosing a conflict of interest.
In the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Milano alleged Hellie left her and her talent agent husband David Bugliari with "millions of dollars in debt and their credit in ruins".
Milano's financial issues began with a home improvement project that far surpassed an initial costs estimate. Milano alleges her accountants didn't notify her of longstanding Ventura County, California building code violations, which subsequently led to a lien and $377,000 (£298,200) in fines. The project reportedly cost $5 million (£3.9 million), but her house is only worth $3 million (£2.4 million). She also claimed Hellie, who she fired in 2016, failed to pay her taxes, mortgage payments, and used her money for his own investments.
The lawsuit's trial was set to begin next month, January 2019, but it has now been postponed until May (19) as the actress deals with the stress of her Bell Canyon home being "adversely affected by the recent Woolsey Fire," which took place last month, when three people were killed and thousands of homes were destroyed.
Milano is also facing a countersuit from bosses at the management company, according to The Blast.
