Mischa Barton, who will forever hold a place in our hearts thanks to her portrayal of Marissa Cooper on The O.C., has filed a lawsuit against her mother, alleging that Nuala Barton has stolen money and withheld earnings from her throughout her career.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Barton’s claim, which was filed yesterday in Los Angeles, paints a fairly sad picture.
“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,” it reads. In the claim, Barton contends that her mother, while acting as a manager, entered her into various business ventures, including a handbag line and a boutique in London, “unknowingly” and “without compensation.”
Barton also claims that her mother withheld part of the compensation she received for acting in a horror film called The Hoarder, taking the difference on top of her management fee. A Beverly Hills home, purchased in 2006 for $7.8 million, is also part of the dispute – Barton claims that her mother deliberately structured the purchase to grant herself half-ownership, and then kicked her out.
The suit claims that these “revelations of exploitation and fraud”, along with “ongoing instances of bullying and verbal abuse”, led to the breakdown of the mother and daughter’s personal and professional relationship. The actress is seeking “unspecified damages” for claims including breach of fiduciary duty and breach of oral contract, claiming that her mother has “refused” to provide her with funds she earned from various acting, modelling and endorsement jobs.
As you know Barton left The O.C. at the end of its third season in 2006, and since then, has worked fairy steadily as an actress, albeit without the high profile she once had. Her IMDB lists five films released in 2015, with a further four completed, and five more in various stages of pre- and post-production. Her post-O.C. television career includes The Beautiful Life: TBL, a drama about models that was cancelled after one season in 2009.
Photo: Alexander Koerner via Getty Images
