What’s a single tree worth to a billionaire? Too much, because billionaires are goddamn insane.
Nancy Walton Laurie, who is worth nearly $5 billion because she won the birth lottery by being born to Wal-Mart co-founder Bud Walton, is suing a development company for $90,000 for allegedly damaging a “cherished” eucalyptus tree that graced the grounds of her Bel Air mansion. Damn, the last time I checked, cocaine didn’t even grow on trees.
The development company being sued by the Walton daughter belongs to Mohamed Hadid — he’s the father of model Gigi Hadid. Hadid’s company has also managed to piss off the other hoity-toity of Bel Air through its construction of an overbearing 30,000-square-foot mega-mansion in the neighborhood. It’s the 200-foot-long retaining wall for that property that “cut the roots to the family’s cherished eucalyptus tree, causing it severe damage and putting it at risk of falling over,” according to Walton Laurie’s summary judgement.
Walton Laurie is asking that the wall be removed and that $90,000 be paid for the damage to the tree — its pain and suffering will require years of therapy, clearly.
Bruce Rudman, Hadid’s lawyer, has battled back by claiming the wall is in the same place as the wall it replaced, and that it “serves the land much better than little piece of land they are complaining about.”
Rudman’s biggest weapon against the Wal-Mart heiress’s claims, however, is an arborist. Yeah, a tree professional. “We have an arborist who says the tree is thriving, and at one point in time was suffering from the drought,” Rudman said.
Nancy, you should check out your own company’s website for a replacement — here’s a beautiful “spiral silk tree” you can replace your eucalyptus with for the everyday low, low price of $38.82. (It doesn’t grow cocaine though.)
