Since Arrow closed out its eight-season run on The CW, its central (city-visiting) lead Stephen Amell hasn’t been nearly as publicly active as Oliver Queen, despite having recently reprised the role while filming for The Flash’s final season. But that doesn’t mean everything has been hunky dory on the home front in recent years, with the actor getting embroiled in disputes with some of his neighbors. Some may remember that ol’ chestnut from Summer 2020 when Amell went off and accused a neighbor of taking a shit on his roof. More recently, he’d filed a lawsuit against neighbors for allegedly using their Laurel Canyon abode as an animal rescue.
As fans await his return to the role of the dad-buff Jack Spade for Starz’s wrestling drama Heels, Stephen and wife Cassandra Jean Amell are the focus of a cross-complaint that was recently filed by two of the people behind the nonprofit Rescues Rock Inc. The legal filing took place in Los Angeles Superior Court as an official response to the couple’s lawsuit from September 2022. In the official release, which refers to the Amells as “Hollywood B-listers,” attorney John S. Vishneski III of the law firm Reed Smith addressed the previously filed suit as well as a video that the Arrow vet allegedly sent to Kristen Stavola, the Executive Director behind Rescues Rock. (The team at Reed Smith stepped in to handle the case for on a pro bono basis.) In Vishneski’s words:
The Amells filed an utterly false complaint with zero basis and absolutely no support from any other neighbors surrounding the Rescues Rock’s property. It’s hard to imagine why anyone would attack an organization doing such important and needed work helping sick dogs and cats, without any proof. One mystery is why the Amells chose to file a lawsuit rather than utilize the administrative process in the Los Angeles municipal code for dog noise complaints, especially since the Amells are familiar with that procedure having unsuccessfully used it to complain about another neighbor’s dog. Instead, Mr. Amell sent a video text so Stavola could see his face and hear his threatening ‘tone’ saying, ‘[t]his is not a threat, this is my promise and guarantee that we are about to unleash law enforcement, punitive damages, and anything within our legal right in order to compel you to be a reasonable homeowner, dog owner, and most importantly neighbor.’
Stephen Amell, whose prior complaints about another neighbor’s barking dog were addressed in the lawyer’s statement above, has said he attempted to squash a larger dispute with Kristen Stavola and property owner Jeremy Gardiner by talking to them directly regarding complaints about disturbances over animal noises, off-putting smells coming from the non-profit, and other issues. The Amells have also accused Rescues Rock of not having the proper permits to run a shelter, but the press release refers to the org as a “legally permitted nonprofit,” which could be part of why this quarrel has largely gone against the couple’s favor so far.
The initial attempt to request an injunction to shut down Rescues Rock went unsuccessful in court in September, inspiring the nonprofit to start a crowd-funding campaign to account for legal fees. Things also went in the defendants’ direction in November when a judge stated in court that the Amells were “not likely to prevail” with their efforts if the case went to trial, saying that they were actually doing more public wrong in the situation for attempting to shut down an animal shelter.
At this point, Rescues Rock filed the cross-claim as a way to block Stephen and Cassandra Jean Amell from further damaging the organization’s reputation publicly, and from further delaying its ability to care for animals in need. The paperwork echoes some prior reports that other neighbors in the area have complained more about the Amells than the shelter, indicating that the Code 8 star is a “bully.” In fact, the counter-claim purports that seven people who reside near Rescues Rock have filed paperwork in opposition to claims the Amells have made concerning loud noises and emanating smells.
Outside of all things court-based, Stephen Amell will pop up in the coming months for one presumably final performance as Oliver Queen on The Flash, with Season 2 news for Heels hopefully also surfacing in the coming months.
