Howard Battles Over God’s Work – And Wins

The rip-roaring El Nino forced the director Ron Howard and his family out of a rental home. Now incredibly, a jury has awarded the director for the sheer inconvenience. Deeply perturbed amd distinctly unimpressed by God's handiwork, Howard, his wife Cheryl and Imagine Entertainment were awarded a whopping $605,000 in damages at the beginning of this week in their counter-suit against Jeff Greene, a Malibu real estate investor and landlord. The claim arose from a rental home the Howards and their four children moved into in December 1997. Their stay in the rented accommodation was necessitated by Howard's work on the upcoming movie, EDtv. But no thanks to El Nino, the family were forced to up and leave just four weeks after they'd settled in because of massive leaks and flooding during the storms. Originally, the money-hungry Greene sued for breach of contract, in an attempt to collect rent for the entire term of the lease. Banding together as so often the Hollywood folk do, Howard and Imagine counter-sued - and won. Speaking of the legal victory, Imagine's attorney Kurt Peterson stated, "Ron and Cheryl Howard are very appreciative of the jury's careful consideration of the issues raised at the trial" He also added that Imagine will return to court to seek an additional award of attorneys' fees and costs.