Entertainment Movies William H. Macy Fires Back at Neighbor’s $600K Trespassing Lawsuit Alleging Property Damage The 'Shameless' star is pushing back against the 'emotional distress' his next-door neighbor is alleging due to trees cut down on his property By Jack Smart Jack Smart Jack Smart is the Movies Staff Writer at PEOPLE. With 10 years of experience as an entertainment journalist, he previously worked at The A.V. Club and Backstage. People Editorial Guidelines Published on June 2, 2023 05:46PM EDT Close William H. Macy. Photo: Jesse Grant/Getty William H. Macy is denying that he had landscapers cut down his next-door neighbor's trees back. The Magnolia star, 73, is pushing back against accusations that his next-door neighbor in Los Angeles, Pierce Brown, submitted in a $600,000 lawsuit. Brown’s lawsuit, filed to the Los Angeles Superior Court in April, claimed that the Oscar-nominated actor “knowingly and intentionally” instructed a team of landscapers to destroy and remove “several healthy, decades-old mature pine trees and other vegetation from the Brown Property.” In court documents submitted May 31 and obtained by PEOPLE on Friday, Macy’s legal team “denies, generally and specifically, each and every allegation” of wrongdoing. The filing demands that the entire case be dismissed with prejudice, claiming that Brown himself was “careless, reckless, and negligent in and about the matters and things alleged.” Felicity Huffman to Appear in 'Good Doctor' Spinoff — Her First Role Since College Admissions Scandal Brown's initial complaint claimed that “in accessing the Brown Property, Macy's workers damaged the gate that connected the two properties” and caused “damage to and destabilization of the hillside itself.” Brown’s lawyers also alleged that Macy admitted to his neighbor that he had allowed his workmen to do this. Hollywood To You/Star Max/GC Images Macy’s new filing argues his actions were “committed due to an immediate and imperative necessity… to protect persons from death or serious bodily injury or to protect land or chattel from destruction or injury.” Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. This lawsuit follows the jail sentencing of Macy’s wife Felicity Huffman, one of several parents entangled in the 2019 "Operation Varsity Blues" college admissions cheating scandal. Huffman, 60, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, resulting in 11 days spent in jail, a year of supervised release and a $30,000 fine.