Rob Lowe and wife's hedge low. Wendy McCaw helps tofurky couple.

by lol | December 8, 2006 at 11:40 pm

20455 views | 0 Recommendations | 2 comments

DAILY SOUND, STAFF WRITER................."The motion, filed under (Sheryl) Berkoff 's name, is regarding a hedge separating two properties on Padaro Lane in Carpinteria. Berkoff alleged that her family's "privacy and ambiance" at 3555 1/2 Padaro Lane were destroyed because the defendants cut the hedge." .. "(Rob) Lowe and Berkoff weren’t in court yesterday but were represented by Leila Noel of Cappello & Noel, LLP." .. (Derek Westen is the attorney representing Lowe's elderly neighbors.) “This isn’t a lawsuit about an injunction,” Westen said. “This is about intimidating an 82-year-old neighbor. This is about a plaintiff to get an expansion on a house.” .. .. .. read the Rob Lowe ficus hedge matter at ...... Go to original story... ..................................................................................................................................................... Comment: Santa Barbara, California is a county seat with an approximate population of 90,000. There is one daily paper, the Santa Barbara News-Press, a 155 year old paper of record, owned by Wendy McCaw. In July 2006 Rob Lowe triggered a series of diasters in Santa Barbara and McCaw was accused of suppressing local information. Lowe was part of the beginning of the worst newspaper meltdown in the history of the community. The first information McCaw killed for Lowe was the address at 700 Picacho Lane, Montecito, California. A large vacant lot, where Lowe has plans to build a 12,000 square foot mansion, a second multimillion dollar compound for their family of four. In another Lowe matter, at their multimillion dollar Padaro Lane beach front property, the Lowe's think they need more "privacy and ambience" than the elderly neighbors need property value and their view. Other citizens are of the opinion these stories are not just views and zoning matters but also about who you know and the favors they will do for you. As well, the lawyers you can afford............................................................................................................................................................................ Ironically, Rob Lowe's quest for "privacy" generated interest. Ordinarily, most celebrities behave as regular citizens and no one would care. So chummy are the Lowe's with McCaw, they spent Thanksgiving with her and co-publisher, Baron Arthur von Wiesenberger. At this same time it was learned McCaw hired local attorney, Barry Cappello, known as the "Barracuda". In December 2006, Leila Noel of (Barry)Cappello & Noel, LLP, represented Lowe/Berkoff in court against the elderly neighbors ficus hedge trimming matter (see above "original story" link). The Santa Barbara News-Press continues an information blackout on the privileged. Leaving others to wonder what more is changed or left out in the paper? The News-Press meltdown is a complex, evolving situation with many of the same players as the ficus hedge. You can learn more at Wikipedia or google search the names. It will take years for all the litigation to make this more clear.

Celebrities get touchy about their hedges, don't they...and editors fret about fair use...

Technically, the way you have quoted this article exceeds the "fair use" convention that has been upheld by courts to protect the intellectual property rights of original content creators.

Fair use allows you to quote a portion of the article for the purposes of education, reportage, review, etc. Here's a useful list of the legit use of copying material:

"In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—

the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is
of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
the nature of the copyrighted work;
the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work."

I'd say #3 is the relevant section here. You've copied a bunch of the material and haven't really provided a context for it. On the other, hand, you have been a terrific contributor to NP and I add this information to inspire you, not lecture you. The Rob Lowe story is interesting on a number of levels and I appreciate you finding it.

I'd be keen on discussing this with you more...contact me at actualnewsguy[at]nowpublic[dot]com.

Anonymous said...

"There are many layers to the Rob Lowe hedge debacle. The hedge is for leverage to force the old lady into not opposing a structure that the County has already told Lowe several times to remove. Anyone can stroll the beach and take a look at the illegal party tent structure and the ridiculous one sided privacy hedge. They ought to be ashamed of themselves, coming into a small beach community pushing their weight around and thumbing their noses at the County on top of it all. By the way, according to sources, when asked by his wife to set the BBQ up, he commentned, "Movie Stars don't BBQ". He needs to return to Malibu where all of the meals are, no doubt, catered."

12/10/2006 9:47 PM

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