It seems Bella Hadid and Gigi Hadid won’t be visiting their dad in Bel Air, CA anytime soon. After a grueling legal battle between neighbors and the celebrity real estate millionaire, The Daily Mail reports that Mohamed Hadid, father of the supermodels, will soon be short $2.6 million as he pays out legal fees connected to a lawsuit over the alleged “dangerous” construction of his Los Angeles mansion.
Hadid purchased property back in 2011, with the supposed intention of building a smaller residence, according to Dirt. Plans quickly switched gears however; the “small home” turned into the desire for an even larger mansion built over what already existed — 30,000-square-feet, to be exact.
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In order to complete the project, Hadid secured shady — and potentially dangerous — construction permits for what would eventually become an illegal construction plan, Dirt reported.
Neighbors below Hadid caught on to how the process was panning out, and immediately took action to stop the mega mansion that has since been dubbed “Starship Enterprise.” In 2015, the reality TV star was criminally prosecuted by the City of LA when he refused to comply with ‘stop work’ orders.
Doing so would mean facing an incredible loss for Hadid, who claimed he was “broke” at the time. His goal was to sell Starship Enterprise for a whopping $100 million; quitting the construction at that time would cost him approximately $60 million in losses over the property; according to The Daily Mail, $30 million came from his own pocket.
It was the first in a series of lawsuits and payouts that would continue up until 2023. Neighbors were mainly concerned because the home was located on the side of a mountain; while the original 15,000-square-foot building was constructed within legal parameters, doubling the property in size could cause undue stress in the neighborhood, including the risk of the building collapsing.
In 2019, a Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge ordered Hadid’s pet project be destroyed, agreeing with Bel Air residents that the final product would pose “legitimate risk of suffering damage and harm to their homes” as reported by People.
Deconstruction of the mansion began in 2021, but Hadid’s neighbors felt justice had not yet been fully served. They continued with more legal battles, especially to try and recoup the millions of dollars in legal fees they had collectively shelled out to fight against the real estate tycoon.
Currently, The Daily Mail stated that Hadid is responsible for coughing up $2.6 million, which he found to be a “victory” as his neighbors have allegedly spent nearly $9 million on lawyers. He’s also since recovered only a fraction of his initial investment, when the property was sold at auction in 2021 for $5 million, as reported by Dirt.
While neighbors told The Daily Mail that they feel “vindicated,” they haven’t seen a cent yet. “I just want Hadid to pay up and go away,” said Bel Air resident Joe Horacek.
