British artist Phil Collins sued his ex-wife and her current husband, claiming that the couple forcibly invaded his $40 million Miami Beach home and hired armed guards to keep him off the property.
The legal documents for the complaint were entered in Miami-Dade County court last Wednesday. There Collins assures that his third wife Orianne Cevey and her husband Thomas Bates have “refused to leave” the house, which is owned by the artist.
In the lawsuit, the singer’s lawyers refer to the Bates as “invaders” “An injunction is urgently needed to end an armed occupation and takeover of the Phil Collins home by his ex-girlfriend and her new husband, the defendants in the action,” and say Collins fears the couple or their agents will”remove, conceal or destroy valuable and irreplaceable personal property,” including valuables and other items that are their property and are in the home.
The lawyers attached to the lawsuit a letter in which they assured that Orianne Bates has threatened to make public documents and statements that “would be damaging” to Collins’ image unless she gives him a large amount of money.
Collins purchased the home in 2015 and, according to public documents of the transaction, it is more than 1,100 square meters and is built on a plot of about 5,000 square meters in one of the most expensive areas in the area. The seven-room property was built in 1920 and has a private jetty, swimming pool and koi pond. It was renovated in 2005 by the artist and businesswoman Jennifer López.
In a report, Collins’ lawyer Jeffrey Fisher told the Miami Herald his ex is “trying to shake down” Collins for money. “[As] his attorney and former federal prosecutor, I have zero tolerance for that type of behavior,” he said. “I’m going to use every legal remedy to get her out of the house.”
Cevey’s attorney Frank Maister told Vanity Fair, “We will deal with Mr. Collins in the courthouse, not the gossip column.” A Zoom hearing is reportedly scheduled in the coming days.