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Developer Known For Hollywood Party Houses Sues Saudi Prince Over Epic Rager
A developer known for leasing his Hollywood Hills homes for wild parties that annoy the neighbors is now accusing a Saudi prince of damaging one of his rented glassy mansions while partying.Developer Danny Fitzgerald is suing Saudi prince Aziz al Saud, alleging that the royal raged so hard during a month-long lease, with parties that included drugs and strippers, that he caused over $80,000 in damage, according to the L.A. Times. The lawsuit also alleges that the prince—who was finishing up his studies at Pepperdine University at the time—is responsible for over $300,000 in other damages to the property on Weidlake Drive in August, including the fact that Fitzgerald couldn't rent the home while repairs were conducted.
"It was horrible," Fitzgerald told the Times. "The guy just took full abuse of my home."
Fitzgerald doesn't seem to be receiving too much sympathy from his neighbors. He's been criticized in recent years for allowing parties to go on at the home, along with three other neighboring mansions he owns. These parties have included Justin Bieber ragers, a reality show about swingers, and one couple who lead a particularly, well, decadent lifestyle. Neighbors also said they saw a caged lion show up for one party, while an elephant made an appearance at another.
"It's just funny. Now he gets up in arms," Patti Negri, president of the Hollywood Dell Civic Assn., told the Times. "It didn't seem to matter when we were negatively affected on the outside of the property. Now he's got it on the inside of the property. How it affects him now is making a big difference."
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Fitzgerald claims that he and the prince agreed that the royal student could have one party during the month-long rental, but the prince allegedly hosted many all-night blow outs.
Then on August 16, the date of the agreed upon party, the guest list grew from the 150 limit to over 800 people, according to the suit, with strippers dancing on kitchen countertops and guests smoking marijuana. Fitzgerald says the guests damaged the furniture and walls and caused the hardwood floors to buckle with spilled drinks.
The lawsuit also argues that the defendants, which also includes two employees of the prince, have not paid for damages and falsely claimed that they were covered under a $1 million property insurance policy.
Fitzgerald contests that he hasn't been disrespectful of his neighbors and has only received one ticket that ended up as a fine, which was for not having a permit for the lion. He argues that the homes were only problematic from 2012 to 2014, when a realtor was renting them out, and that the prince is only the first sign of trouble since then.
"The only mistake I've made in the last two and a half years was this prince rental," Fitzgerald told the Times. "Here I am putting my reputation back together and then he just destroys it in one month."
Fitzgerald says he has apologized to neighbors over the incident with the prince. And following the recent filming of a TV show about him and the Hollywood Dell community, says they've grown closer. "We both realized that we're really not that bad and we all want the same thing," he told the Times. "We want a neighborhood without problems."
Negri tells the Times that relations between her and Fitzgerald have improved in the last couple of months. However, it remains to be seen if his neighbors will act as witnesses on his behalf against the prince in court as he hopes they will.
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