‘Tenant from hell’ Elizabeth Hirschhorn is threatening to sue her former landlord for defamation after he claimed police had escorted her off the property last week. On Monday, a Santa Monica judge dismissed the eviction case against Hirschhorn after hearing that she had ‘abandoned’ the guesthouse she hadn’t paid rent on for 575 days. Sebastian Rucci, attorney for landlord Sascha Jovanovic, emailed Judge George Bird a motion for dismissal over the weekend saying that ‘since the tenant had abandoned’ the property the case should be dismissed.
Reading the lawyer’s email, the judge told the court that ‘police escorted’ Hirschhorn from the building last Friday and three men took away all her items. But Hirschhorn’s attorney Amanda Seward protested, telling the judge, ‘That is not true, your honor. The police did not escort her from the building.’ Outside the courtroom – where neither Hirschhorn nor Jovanovic showed up Monday – Seward told DailyMail.com, ‘The police did not escort her out. They were there on a different matter.
‘If Jovanovic said the police escorted her off the property, that is a defamation claim.’ Judge Bird dismissed the eviction case ‘without prejudice’ on Monday meaning Hirschhorn could refile a challenge to the dismissal. Attorney Seward denied that Hirschhorn had another place to live already. DailyMail.com reported Monday that she had moved to a luxury extended stay hotel in downtown Los Angeles. ‘She’s not on the street but she had to find another place because he locked her out’ Seward said.
‘She did not voluntarily abandon the guest house,’ she insisted. Harvard graduate Hirschhorn, 55, booked a six-month stay in a luxury guesthouse attached to dentist Jovanovic’s $3.5million Brentwood home in September 2021 but refused to move out after the period expired – citing Covid-19 and what she said was an illegally built shower. When landlord Jovanovic, 61, attempted to evict her, Hirschhorn countersued and demanded $100,000 in ‘relocation costs’ to move.
Exclusive DailyMail.com photos showed men lugging several boxes out of the home and into a waiting van on Friday. The LAPD were called to the property by the landlord who had spotted the men – none of whom he recognized – walking about in his yard. ‘I’m very relieved and also a bit overwhelmed,’ Jovanovic said about being able to reclaim his property.’It was a long time coming but now she is finally out!’ Jovanovic told DailyMail.com Tuesday that he spent the weekend cleaning out the cottage. ‘It had a strong moist smell from water damage,’ he said.
‘We removed all furniture, linen and things and cleaned the guest house with the sliding doors open since Friday. ‘This morning the smell is better and there are fewer flies. Next is the demolition of the damaged cabinets and repair of the moist walls.’ Jovanovic has already taken steps to ensure Hirschhorn can’t come back – but his lawyer Rucci told DailyMail.com there could still be a sting in the tail of the saga. Hirschhorn’s attorney told Rucci in an email that she considers the move out to be ‘temporary’.
In the email exchange obtained by DailyMail.com, Rucci explains that his client had changed the locks, only for Seward to tell him that they may have ‘jumped the gun’ and to accuse Jovanovic of harassment. Seward added: ‘Ms. Hirschhorn had discussed with me concern over the constant harassment and surveillance, and also the desire to get the things that needed to be repaired. ‘Subject to my discussions with Ms. Hirschhorn, please be advised you have no authority to change the locks or to assume abandonment of the property.’ But Rucci told DailyMail.com: ‘We changed the locks when Hirschhorn left. Her lawyer responded that we jumped the gun as she intended to return after leaving.
‘I responded that she was not allowed back, and the burden is now on her to go to court to regain possession.’ He added: ‘This lady has no shame. Her harassment continues even from the grave, as they say.’ Jovanovic said he called the cops because he wanted to find out who the men were and why they were on my property and in my guesthouse. ‘She did not answer my calls. She has a lot of work ahead of her. And she still has a big lawsuit on her hands.’ Exclusive DailyMail.com photos show the inside of the now-empty guesthouse – which Hirschhorn left in its ‘original condition’ and has now had its locks changed.
Hirschhorn checked into an extended stay hotel in downtown Los Angeles after leaving Jovanovic’s property. The glamorous modern property boasts a pool, a rooftop tennis court, and a fully equipped fitness center while each of the hotel’s suites comes with a private patio. The website describes her new digs as being ‘nestled amid glittering towers and Art Deco facades. The hotel offers one, two and three-bedroom accommodations boasting fully equipped kitchens, modern design, 24-hour Guest Services, and access to over 37,000 sq ft of unparalleled lifestyle amenities.
Despite the uncertainty over whether Hirschhorn will regain possession of the guesthouse, her other legal battle with Jovanovic over $60,000 in unpaid rent will continue. Jovanovic is asking that she be forced to pay all the back rent but she says she does not have to pay and should be refunded her initial $19,000 payment for the first six months because the residence is an ‘illegal unit’. DailyMail.com previously revealed that Hirschhorn moved into Jovanovic’s home less than two months after receiving a settlement in an eerily similar case in Oakland, California. Hirschhorn, who was brought up in Massachusetts and previously lived in Tucson, Arizona, and New York City, moved into a $2.6 million cottage in the Bay Area city in September 2019 after subletting a room from tenant Alex Letwin.
Less than two months into the tenancy, Letwin and Hirschhorn had become embroiled in a dispute over cleaning which led to Letwin moving out in March 2020. Despite having no tenancy agreement with owners Brian and Gordon Bishop and refusing to pay rent, Hirschhorn stayed on for another 18 months. The eviction battle began in August 2020 and ended with a settlement in July 2021. At the same time, Hirschhorn was fighting a second legal battle with credit card provider AMEX over a $19,000 bill that the 55-year-old refused to pay on the grounds that they had failed to reimburse her for a fraudulent charge. In March 2022 – long after she had begun squatting at Jovanovic’s home – a judge in Los Angeles decided that she had been reimbursed by AMEX and ordered her to pony up the full amount in $500-a-month installments. Read the full story:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12720915/Tenant-hell-Elizabeth-Hirschhorn-threatens-defamation-lawsuit-landlord-police-escort.html?ito=msngallery
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