Streisand’s Neighbor Sues Over Being Called a Stalker

Much ado in Malibu . . . Another Judge Judy suit . . . Boys and girls . . . Grammer lessons.

A Malibu neighbor who also happens to be a freelance photographer is suing Barbra Streisand, her husband James Brolin and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, claiming he was falsely arrested and wrongly labeled a Streisand stalker.

Wendell Ivar Wall’s Los Angeles Superior Court suit states that his home is less than 800 yards away from Streisand’s Point Dume compound. Nonetheless, Wall’s suit says, he was arrested, handcuffed and incarcerated for four days after Streisand complained to deputies that he was stalking her.

Wall admits that earlier on the day of his arrest--Jan. 8--he photographed Streisand and Brolin at a car dealership in Thousand Oaks. But he denies stalking them.

The suit says Wall was stopped that afternoon on the street 200 yards from his home. He told deputies where he lived, but they allegedly “grabbed [his] arm and shoulder and forcibly put him over the hood of the police car and illegally searched him” anyway. Although charges never were filed, a sheriff’s spokesman identified him--without naming him--as a “stalker” on national television, the suit says.

All of this caused Wall “physical and mental pain and shock to his nervous system, fear, anxiety, torment, degradation and extreme emotional distress,” court papers say. His suit seeks unspecified damages for civil rights violations, false arrest and imprisonment, conspiracy, defamation, negligence and conspiracy. The County Counsel’s office, which represents the Sheriff’s Department, does not comment on litigation, and Streisand’s spokeswoman could not be reached.

LIEN TIMES: Meanwhile, down the beach a piece, actor Ryan O’Neal is being sued by his remodeling contractor for nearly $62,000 in allegedly unpaid bills for drywall, roofing, plumbing and electrical work.

Contractor D.B. Leishman Inc. seeks a Superior Court judge’s permission to enforce a mechanic’s lien against O’Neal’s Malibu beach house, as well as unspecified monetary damages for lost profits.

According to court papers filed in Santa Monica, Leishman and O’Neal entered a contract in June 1999 for $259,500 in remodeling work. The suit claims that although O’Neal paid some of the bills, he has refused to pay invoices since May. As a result, the suit says, Leishman was unable to pay his subcontractors. An O’Neal rep could not be reached.

JUDGING JUDY: All rise. Now comes Judge Judy’s original executive producer Peter Brennan to the bar of the court. Los Angeles Superior court, that is.

Brennan, producer of such shows as “A Current Affair,” “Hard Copy,” and “The Judge Joe Brown Show,” is suing the production company behind outspoken, no-nonsense Judge Judith Scheindlin’s show, as well as Viacom Inc., Paramount Television Group, and Spelling Entertainment.

Brennan, executive producer of the “The Judge Judy Show” pilot, claims the defendants conspired to cheat him out of his fair share of profits by engaging in a series of mergers that changed the way his share of syndication profits was calculated.

The suit says that in June 1999, Viacom purchased a controlling interest in Spelling, and in Big Ticket Productions, which produces “The Judge Judy Show.” By doing so, Viacom enhanced its syndication profits, but Brennan’s contract was breached.

In essence, after the merger “Judge Judy’s” profits were calculated at a higher rate, while Brennan’s were not, the suit says.

Brennan is asking the court to determine his rights and award unspecified damages.

WHAT A DRAG: The Miss Universe Pageant should not be confused with a competing pageant for female impersonators, Miss Universe execs allege in a federal trademark infringement suit filed in Los Angeles.

Named in the U.S. District Court suit are the Texas company Global Pageantry Systems Inc., and its president, Francisco Javier Alvarez, also known as Kitty Devino. They are accused of using the Miss Universe name without permission in beauty contests for men in drag.

Miss Universe, which registered the trademark in 1956, is asking the court to order the defendants to stop using the name, and to pay $250,000 for advertisements to set the record, well, straight.

FRASIER’S APPEAL: Actor Kelsey Grammer has turned to a Superior Court judge after a federal judge recently rejected his appeal of a Screen Actors Guild arbitration panel’s ruling that he must pay the Artists Agency more than $2 million in back commissions.

Grammer claims his former agents took advantage of him and failed to promote his career.

But U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson said in a written ruling that he “lacks the authority to second-guess the panel’s decisions.” So Grammer and his lawyers at Lavely & Singer are giving Superior Court Judge Valerie Baker a whirl. A hearing is set for Dec. 21 in Santa Monica.

In court papers, Grammer says he severed his relationship with his old agents in 1996, saying they were “not actively furthering his career.” His most successful role--as Dr. Frasier Crane on “Cheers” and then on “Frasier”--did not result from their work, but from that of other agents, the suit says. Nonetheless, he was under contract to pay the Artists Agency a 10% commission.

Grammer stopped the payments in 1998, and the parties turned to the SAG panel to mediate the dispute. The panel said he owed the $2 million, but didn’t owe commissions on the $15 million the actor has earned during the last two years. The panel also ruled that the William Morris Agency owed the Artists Agency $82,554 in commissions.

When it comes to courthouses, Frasier just can’t seem to leave the building.