Actress Toni Collette Sued over Failed House Deal
Hollywood star Toni Collette is being sued for loss and damage after allegedly failing to complete the purchase of a Sydney house for Aus$6.35 million (U.S.$6.35 million), reports said Tuesday.
Industrie clothing brand founders Nick and Susan Kelly launched the action in the Supreme Court in Sydney against the Oscar-nominated Australian actress, known for her roles in "The Sixth Sense" and TV show "United States of Tara".
The Sydney Morning Herald said Collette and her husband David Galafassi claimed they were unable to sell another property and did not have the funds to complete the deal.
In a statement of claim, the Kellys alleged Collette put down a Aus$317,500 deposit on September 30, 2011 for the trendy Paddington terrace house and agreed to complete the sale on December 30.
But on the day it was due to sell, Colette's solicitor told the Kellys that "our clients will not be able to proceed" due to not being able to sell another house they owned, the Kellys' barrister Bernard Coles told the court.
Coles submitted that one of the reasons they did not settle was because they had decided to buy another property, the report said.
The Kellys ultimately sold the house to another party last year for Aus$5.5 million, with the couple seeking damages mostly made up of the fall in value of the property as well as the costs of resale and interest.
Collette and Galafassi have denied a number of the Kellys' claims, including that they had to complete the sale by December 30 and pleaded with them to settle the dispute out of the spotlight.
"For the sake of both our families I implore you to find a way to settle this less publicly," the actress wrote to Nick Kelly, according to an email submitted to the court, the Herald reported.
The hearing continues.
Source: Agence France Presse
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