Justin Theroux’s Messy Fight With His Neighbor Is Over (For Now)
For the past two years, Justin Theroux hasn’t had much time to care about whether his ex Jennifer Aniston was sad, lonely, hooking up with Brad again, or whatever she’s been doing to pass the time since they split. Because he was too busy having his lawyer fight the downstairs neighbor of his Greenwich Village apartment after several years worth of apartment drama came to a head. Luckily for Justin, he’ll be spending his summer in black jorts drinking artisanal tequila cocktails, and not drinking room-temperature courtroom water in a suit. TMZ says his battle is over for now, and he won.
This started back in 2017, when Justin filed a $350,000 lawsuit against his neighbor, a 70-year-old lawyer named Norman Resnicow. Justin claimed Norman had been actively harassing him for years and pulling some petty neighbor shit like deliberately killing ivy that didn’t belong to him, and shutting off electricity and an outdoor water line to Justin’s outdoor roof deck. Norman fired back with a counter-suit claiming that Justin was a noisy piece of trash neighbor who left his rescue dogs to bark at all hours of the day and night, and asked Norman to “handle it” when Justin wanted his long-time live-in girlfriend out of the apartment (while he allegedly hid out at a hotel). Norman eventually went to TMZ claiming that Jennifer was the nice one, and that Justin was a terrible neighbor who spilled water down through his roof deck and into Norman’s apartment, causing a mold problem. Normal also disputed who the roof deck actually belonged to.
Norman and Justin also had a fight about some ongoing construction. Justin claimed he’d caught Norman trespassing on his property in an attempt to catch an up-close and personal peek at dat bulge. No, Justin says Norman was there to harass contractors and stick his nose where it didn’t belong. Justin eventually got a restraining order against Norman after he was seen in the lobby with what appeared to be two harpoons (but were actually log rollers).
That all brings us to earlier this week, when TMZ reported that the drama is legally over for now. A judge determined that the 40-square foot strip of roof deck in the middle of all of this rightfully belongs to Justin, not Norman. The judge also said that it was always Justin’s. So basically, Norman had no right to threaten to cut off water and power to Justin’s roof deck. The New York Daily News says that it all boiled down to the legal definition of stairs. Ah, pulling out the dictionary – truly the thrilling conclusion this gripping story deserved. But the judge declared that Norman was trespassing on Justin’s property every time he showed up on that deck, like when he tried to speak to contractors, or when Norman tried to hang a light outside. The judge also side-eyed Norman’s claim that the alleged mold problem was so bad, he needed an inhaler. Justin will be awarded damages at a later trial.
However, it might not technically be over. According to the NYDN, this case could potentially go before a jury, and it might get even messier. Both Justin and Norman have accused each other of being Peeping Toms by spying in their respective apartments. That might explain all the back-and-forth that happened in Justin’s personal life after he and Jen broke up. Justin allegedly rebounded with with Emma Stone, Selena Gomez, Petra Collins, and Laura Harrier. I bet that was the work of Norman. “Hi, is this People magazine? Look, it’s kinda hard to see with all this moldy drywall in the way, but I’m pretty sure Justin is now seeing Emma Watson.”
Pic: Wenn.com