Actor Sued for Allegedly Selling Moldy Playa del Rey Condo

Written and Reported by City News Service

"Damages" co-star Mario Van Peebles, a homeowners association and a real estate company are all liable in a lawsuit filed by a man who alleges he bought the actor's Playa del Rey condominium and then discovered mold and a flooring defect, an attorney told a judge today.

Adel Bebawy, in a lawsuit filed in March 2009, alleges that after he acquired Van Peebles' waterfront condominium in 2007 for $1.37 million, he discovered the floor had a severe slope and that there was significant mold in a bathroom.

In his opening statement in the non-jury trial of the case, attorney Darren McBratney, on behalf of Bebawy, said his client has total damages of nearly $6 million on his claims for fraud and rescission of contract.

"He got hustled," McBratney told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Steven Kleifield. "To this day, Mr. Van Peebles claims he didn't know about the mold."

But the 56-year-old actor's attorney, Eric Meller, said his client was often away from the condo he owned for 10 years and asked members of the Waterfront Homeowners Association to watch over the unit while he was gone, even giving members the keys to go inside and check.

When Van Peebles learned there might be mold in the unit, he took action, Meller said.

"He asked the homeowners association, 'Could you look into this and take care of it, because I'm concerned about my kids,"' Meller said.

The homeowners association later paid about $2,500 to have a small amount of mold removed, Meller said. The mold was likely caused by water that seeped from a plant, the attorney said.

Van Peebles watched today's proceedings from a seat in the audience. McBratney said he plans to call the actor to testify next week.

Also denying any wrongdoing by their clients were Martin Deniston, an attorney for Coldwell Banker and Van Peebles' listing broker, Debra Berman, as well as lawyer Barry Reagan, who represents the homeowners association.

They also said Bebawy, an attorney, is wrong when he claims the entire building is structurally unsound.

Two members of the homeowners association's board of directors live on either side of Bebawy and would take action if they thought the structure was unsafe, Reagan said.

According to McBratney, the actor's mother, Maria Marx, initially said that she and her son knew about the problems with the floor, but that she changed her story during her deposition a month later.

According to McBratney, Marx said: "Oh, I'm in so much trouble for talking to you, I just want to die. Why did you ever involve me in this?"

Marx maintained in the deposition that the only problems she was aware of with the floor were cracks caused by a heavy table and by her son dropping a weight.

Van Peebles' daughter, Maya Van Peebles, also changed her story after giving a sworn declaration confirming portions of the unit's floors were uneven, McBratney said.

Marx told the lawyers she has arthritis and cannot walk without assistance. Another judge previously ruled she does not have to come to court and testify.