William H. Macy defends himself in court after neighbor sued him for $600K for cutting down trees

William H. Macy is fighting back in court after being sued for allegedly cutting down trees on his neighbors property.

Macy, 73, is being sued for $600,000 by his neighbor Pierce Brown for landscaping, which he claims happened without his knowledge or consent.

Lawyers for Brown said in court filings, “Macy’s employees … destroyed and removed or severely damaged several healthy, decades-old mature pine trees and other vegetation from the Brown property.”

Brown’s filing additionally alleged that Macy had “knowingly and intentionally” instructed his workers to remove the trees.

In court documents filed May 31 that were obtained by Peoplethe actor’s legal team wrote that he “generally and specifically denies any allegation” of wrongdoing.

Macy asks that the lawsuit be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled at a later date.

His team adds that Brown was “careless, reckless and negligent in and about the alleged matters and things.”

The Boogie Nights actor’s documents allege that the actions he took were “committed because of an immediate and compelling need … to protect persons from death or serious bodily harm or to protect land or property from destruction or injury.” .

It’s unclear if the statement is an admission that Macy’s workers knowingly cut down the trees, but he appears to be defending those actions as a safety issue, if so.

However, Brown’s initial filing alleged that Macy admitted to him that he allowed the workers to cut down the trees on his property.

In addition to suing the film and television actor for cutting down the trees, Brown also claimed that the workers damaged the gate to his property when they allegedly opened it without his permission.

He has claimed that the trees in question were “well within the Brown Property line,” suggesting that their removal could not have been an accidental issue caused by unclear property lines.

He also claimed ‘damage to and destabilization’ of the hillside where the trees stood.

Brown’s lawsuit claims he suffered “loss of property value, loss of use and enjoyment of his property, loss of privacy, an increase in noise, as well as emotional stress, irritation, annoyance and discomfort.”

He noted in his file that he was out of town when the trees were removed, and he said the Shameless star “came to Brown’s doorstep the following month to discuss the condition of Brown’s mound,” though it’s unclear if he was aware of the alteration and the alleged damage before Macy spoke to him about the work.

This is the latest legal trouble for Macy’s family, after his wife Felicity Huffman, 60, went to jail for her role in the 2019 admissions scandal.

His reasons: Macy appeared to admit he ordered workers to remove the trees, but says it was to “protect persons from death or serious bodily harm.” He asks that the lawsuit be dismissed; seen in 2019 in Seattle

More trouble: These are the latest legal troubles for Macy’s family, after his wife Felicity Huffman, 60, went to jail for her role in the 2019 admissions scandal; seen in 2019

The actress — who shares daughters Sophia, 22, and Georgia, 21, with her husband — pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud for paying $15,000 to have someone take the SAT instead of her daughter Sophia to get a better score.

She was sentenced to 14 days in jail and one year of supervised release, and she was ordered to pay a $30,000 fine and to perform 250 hours of community service.

She was eventually released after just 12 days.

No charges were ever brought against her husband as part of the scandal.