A judge said today that Mischa Barton and her attorneys will have to pay about $4,500 in monetary sanctions to the actress’ mother to compensate the latter’s lawyers for expenses incurred from having to file motions to compel responses to various defense inquiries.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Steven Kleifield said attorneys for Nuala Barton were justified in seeking information they deemed important to defending their client.
“This all could have been avoided,” Kleifield said.
Barton sued last April, alleging that Nuala Barton was a “greedy stage mother” who “forged documents and has even kicked Barton out of her own home – – the home purchased with Barton’s money, but that Nuala has turned into her own ATM.”
Attorneys for Nuala Barton stated in their court papers that information they wanted from her daughter included her employment history in acting, modeling and getting commercial endorsements. They stated the information is relevant given that the actress alleges her mother withheld money from her daughter for her work in those same areas.
Nuala Barton’s lawyers also sought documents related to agreements made between the actress and her mother. The defense attorneys maintained the responses from Mischa Barton’s side to all their requests were largely insufficient.
Mischa Barton, 29, co-starred in “The O.C.,” a teen drama series that aired on Fox from 2003-07. Her mother’s court papers refer to the plaintiff as a “once-popular actress” who “chose to air her family’s dirty laundry by filing a lawsuit against her own mother.”
