Maxine Adams has accused the 'Seinfeld' actor and his wife of trying to significantly enhance the value of their home by cutting down two 30-year-old trees on her land.
- April 22, 2021
AceShowbiz - "Seinfeld" star Michael Richards is facing legal action after allegedly chopping down trees on his next door neighbor's Los Angeles property without permission.
Maxine Adams claims the actor and his wife, Beth Skipp, walked over to her Pacific Palisades yard on April 2 and "maliciously cut mature Brazilian Pepper Trees and underbrush" on her land.
In court papers obtained by TMZ, Adams argues the greenery had provided her with additional privacy and shade, but suspects Richards and Skipp wanted to have the two 30-year-old trees removed to "significantly enhance the value of their home as it would increase their view to the Pacific Ocean" - even though they knew she wouldn't allow them to be cut down.
She is now suing to cover the $62,000 (£44,500) cost of replacement trees, which she insists will take two decades to grow to the heights of the last pair, as well as at least $200,000 (£144,000) for the loss of aesthetic value to her home.
Richards and Skipp, whose property is separated from Adams' by a narrow path, have yet to respond to the lawsuit. The two got married in 2010, and share a 10-year-old son Antonio together. He additionally has an adult daughter with ex-wife Cathleen Lyons.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal back in 2014, Richards recalled how he came across it while hunting for a house by the ocean. "That's when I spotted a classic Mediterranean-style house along the coast, on a hill. When I drove up, there was no 'for sale' sign out front, so I left a note in the mailbox with my name and number," he spilled.
