Last summer, a married couple who lives next to Marilyn Monroe’s home bought the property with plans to demolish the house, according to a new lawsuit filed in California.
After Los Angeles granted them a permit to do so, the couple says the city has illegally stepped in to stop the demolition — and is depriving them of “their vested rights” as homeowners.
Brinah Milstein and Roy Bank, the owners, argue Los Angeles has issued a “stay” on permits that were previously granted and won’t let them tear down the home. They’re suing the city over efforts to protect the house as a historic landmark.
The one-story residence was the only home Monroe owned. It is situated in Brentwood, an upscale neighborhood in Los Angeles. She died at the house at age 36 on Aug. 4, 1962.
Milstein and Bank suggest there’s “no way” the house meets the criteria for a “Historic Cultural Monument” after 14 others went on to own the home after Monroe’s death, a complaint filed by the couple on May 6 says.
In January, the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission decided to recommend the house to receive this designation in a unanimous vote — after news of the couple’s demolition plans caused public outrage, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“There is not a single piece of the house that includes any physical evidence that Ms. Monroe ever spent a day at the house, not a piece of furniture, not a paint chip, not a carpet, nothing,” the complaint says.
The city didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on May 8.
Why do they want to demolish the home?
Milstein and Bank, who is a TV producer, bought Marilyn Monroe’s house from the former owner to expand their property next door, the complaint says.
They hoped to combine both properties, and doing so “could include demolition of some or all of the dilapidated structures and other aged ‘improvements’ on the Property,” according to the complaint.
Since Monroe’s death, the “the house has been substantially altered,” the complaint says.
Los Angeles has approved the alterations by granting permits over the years, according to the complaint, which says the demolition and grading permits the city issued them in September have been halted.
“The City of Los Angeles engaged in an illegal and unconstitutional conspiracy related to the property that Marilyn Monroe briefly owned before she tragically committed suicide 61 years ago,” said a statement from the couple’s attorney Peter C. Sheridan that was provided to McClatchy News.
“In particular, the City invoked an unconstitutional ‘stay’ of city issued and vested demo and grading permits, secretly worked with third-parties (including for-profit tour operators and a local conservancy organization) to assure their desired outcome…These backroom machinations were in the name of preserving a house which in no way meets any of the criteria for an ’Historic Cultural (Monument).’”
In arguing that the home can’t receive the historic designation, the couple contends there’s no way to see the home from a public viewpoint.
The only way to get a glimpse would involve trespassing on their property, the complaint says.
“We purchased the property because it is within feet of ours. And it is not a historic cultural monument,” Milstein previously told the Los Angeles Times. “It has been over six decades since Miss Monroe’s passing and in those 61 years it has not been designated.”
“The home has undergone extensive remodels and additions several times with the previous owners,” she said. “Since the media frenzy surrounding whether or not to now make this a historic monument, our quiet, peaceful neighborhood has seen a significant increase in traffic noise, tour buses, sightseers, disruption and disturbance.”
With the lawsuit, Milstein and Bank hope the court will “recognize” their right to demolish the residence.
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