NEIGHBORHOOD NIGHTMARES-From the Hills of Hollywood to the Malibu coast and even the Valley, pricey real estate has provided the backdrop for countless reality shows and some out-control parties, as well as a nice income stream for investors, including developer Danny Fitzgerald who owns a cluster of glass manses in the Hollywood Dell.
The eternal brouhaha has not exactly endeared Fitzgerald to the neighbors who have complained about traffic and noise. Fitzgerald has characterized complaining neighbors as a bunch of killjoys – and some choice expletives. Till now.
See, the ‘hood was the subject of a recent TV show and Fitzgerald says he “learned a lot from his neighbors and we got close,” which may prove to the developer’s advantage as he is embroiled in a lawsuit against a certain Saudi prince.
Tenant Aziz al Saud held the party to end all parties, causing over $86,379 in damages. According to the LA Times, Fitzgerald is suing the prince for $300,000 to cover damages plus lost rent for when the house was off market for repairs.
Apparently, the prince was crashing at the pad while he finished up his studies at Pepperdine and Fitzgerald agreed al Saud could hold one big party. Fitzgerald probably wasn’t counting on that bash being a month-long frat party meets Vegas. The whole thing was capped off by the prince’s graduation party with 800 attendees, “guests doing drugs…and strippers dancing on kitchen countertops.” Partiers trashed the hardwood floors, walls, and the furniture. Whatever happened to a kegger?
Fitzgerald seems to have had a change of heart. He now admits he lost control of his properties when an unnamed realtor handled his rentals. “The only mistake I’ve made in the last two and a half years was this prince rental,” he says. “Here I am putting my reputation back together and then he just destroys it in one month.”
Who thinks Fitzgerald will hold a helluva housewarming party for the neighbors once the house in back in tip-top shape? Nah.
(Beth Cone Kramer is a successful Los Angeles writer and a columnist for CityWatch.) Prepped for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.
