Mischa Barton Sues Mother for Verbal Abuse, Breach of Talent Management Contract
“The O.C.” actress claims Nuala Barton has cheated her out of pay, royalties, real estate
Matt Donnelly | April 7, 2015 @ 5:51 PM
Last Updated: April 5, 2016 @ 11:47 PM
Mischa Barton’s latest family drama isn’t on television, it’s playing out in her real life.
“The O.C.” actress is suing her mother and former manager, Nuala Barton, for mishandling her career, defrauding her of pay and royalties, and exploiting her fame.
Legal papers filed on Tuesday in the Los Angeles Superior Court contain blistering accusations of deception and abuse from mother to daughter, who began booking roles in films like “Notting Hill” and “The Sixth Sense” in 1993 at around age 13.
“This action arises from the tragic tale of a greedy stage mother posing as a talent manager who, instead of acting in the best interest of her daughter/client, schemed to defraud her unsuspecting victim,” claims Mischa’s attorney Alex Weingarten in documents obtained by TheWrap.
“From the outset, Nuala positioned herself to siphon her daughter’s hard-earned money by purportedly acting as her talent manager — a role for which Nuala had absolutely no experience or training. As Barton’s manager, Nuala committed a series of egregious acts to intentional exploit her own daughter,” the papers claim.
The list of offenses Barton, now 29, alleges Nuala carried out include luring Mischa into buying a $7.8 million Beverly Hills home that she’s now not welcome in, padding rates for Mischa’s acting services to skim off the top, and entering her daughter into endorsement contracts without her permission and retaining all fees.
Attorneys for both Mischa and Nuala Barton have not yet returned TheWrap’s request for comment.
Barton is seeking up to three times the compensation she claims to have been defrauded, as well as unspecified punitive damages.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
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Between Lindsay Lohan firing back at Fox News, Mariah Carey allegedly short changing her domestic help, and Sly Stone winning millions after suing his ex-manager -- stars often turn to the courts to address their squabbles and strife.
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