A group of ficus trees are causing legal woes between Chris Pine and one of his Los Angeles neighbors.
According to TMZ, the Star Trek star is being sued by his neighbor, identified as music attorney Helen Yu, over the trees’ roots allegedly infiltrating her backyard. In her legal documents, Yu claims Pine had a dozen ficus trees planted at the border of his home.
Unfortunately, the tree roots are spreading to her yard and causing damage. Yu pointed out some of the concrete hardscapes on her property have been uprooted. She also said the roots are infiltrating the foundation of her home.
This isn’t the first time that the lawyer sued Chris Pine. She previously served the actor with legal documents in 2022. Although they had met in mediation and had nearly resolved their issues, Yu said Pine changed his mind about settling. He then filed a suit claiming her fence was encroaching on his side of the property line.
Yu was originally seeking $267,000 through her lawsuit with Pine. She is notably willing to give him $75,000 for his lawsuit, noting her insurance will handle the funds.
However, after Chris Pine decided to not settle, Yu changed her settlement amount to $346,000. The funds will cover the cost of repairing all the damages to her property. She also wants $225,000 from Pine for emotional distress. Altogether, she wants $571,000.
Chris Pine Opens Up About Family Going Through Hard Times in the 80s
While appearing on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast earlier this week, Chris Pine opened up about growing up in Los Angeles with parents Robert Pine and Gwynne Gilford.
Despite his father having steady-acting jobs in the past, including CHiPs, the family had problems snagging new roles as time went on. “Going into the ‘80s, it got rougher and rougher,” Chris recalled. “My dad, the work got sparser and sparer, and then the real estate crash in ’87 or ’88 pretty much wiped my family out.”
Although his family endured some tough years, Chris Pine said his mother really stepped up to support the household. “I have so much respect for what she did. She went back to UCLA and got her BA. She went back and got her Master’s at Antioch.”
Pine also said that his mother worked multiple jobs while he was younger and going to school. His father also had done some work outside his acting career as well. “So there was a period of time when it was really rough.”