A Hollywood producer's vandalized mansions recall a landmark case when graffiti artists won $6.75 million after their work was destroyed, expert says

• Two empty Hollywood Hills mansions were taken over by squatters and covered in graffiti.
• Graffiti on the mansions is similar to tags on other empty luxury properties in Los Angeles.
• A litigator told BI the incidents reminded him of a landmark Visual Artists Rights Act case.

Spray-painted tags similar to those on Los Angeles' iconic graffiti towers have appeared in another unlikely place in the City of Angels. Two Hollywood Hills mansions are the latest targets in a growing trend of turning empty luxury properties into works of illegal street art.

The empty pair of properties, purchased in 2012 for $4.7 million and in 2013 for nearly $7 million, respectively, are located just miles away from each other in the exclusive area, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The LA Times, citing neighbors of the estates, reports that the properties have sat abandoned and overrun by squatters and graffiti artists, who have covered the mansions in their tags.

Both properties are owned by John Powers Middleton, who produced "The Lego Movie" and the TV series "Bates Motel." After the vandalism made national headlines, Middleton issued a public apology through a spokesperson.

"What's happened to the two properties I own is unacceptable, and no matter what caused it, I own the houses," The LA Times reported Middleton said in a statement. "Given the persistence of the numerous trespassers, it's a struggle."

The LA Times reported that it's unclear why the estates have sat empty for so long, but through his lawyer, Middleton pledged to secure the buildings, clean the graffiti, and pay the city for any costs incurred.

Middleton is the son of John S. Middleton, a billionaire businessman and owner of the Philadelphia Phillies who sold his family's tobacco business to Altria, Philip Morris' parent company, for $2.9 billion in 2007, CNBC reported.

The Phillies released a statement saying, "No other members of the Middleton family have ownership, investment, control or involvement in these properties," The LA Times reported.

A lawyer for John P. Middleton and representatives for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

In Bel Air, a few miles west, another property for sale at $21.5 million has also been turned into a canvas for graffiti artists — part of the growing local trend of vandals targeting affluent neighborhoods for their artwork, NBC Los Angeles reported.

Demolition could mean a payday for the artists

Andrew Lieb, a litigation attorney focusing on real estate legal issues, told Business Insider that the vandalism of the Hollywood Hills properties reminded him of a famous federal case in 2013 involving the Visual Artists Rights Act. The 1990 law gives artists legal rights over their publicly displayed work, regardless of ownership, and prevents the destruction or modification of the artwork in ways that could damage the artist's reputation for 50 years beyond their death.

In the 5 Pointz mural case, a group of street artists sued a real estate developer in New York when he painted over their graffiti murals. The artists ultimately won $6.75 million after their work was destroyed in a ruling affirmed by the US Appeals Court, The New York Times reported in 2020.

If Middleton were to leave the graffiti on his Hollywood Hills properties for an extended period, Lieb said he expected a similar legal challenge could arise.

"Don't let people graffiti your property was the message of that case — unless you intend to keep it there," Lieb told Business Insider.

The tags resemble graffiti on the Oceanwide Plaza towers, a mixed-use complex near the Crypto.com Arena — home of the Los Angeles Lakers — which has sat abandoned since its developer ran out of funds in 2019.

The towers attracted scores of graffiti artists who tagged the property and BASE jumpers who used the 53-story buildings to jump from, prompting city officials to spend nearly $4 million to install a fence and clean up the development, Business Insider reported.

Bloomberg reported last month that the abandoned Oceanwide Plaza Towers development was headed for a bankruptcy auction. Though the unfinished project has drawn comparisons to the 5 Pointz mural demolition, it remains unclear whether the street artists who tagged the Los Angeles property plan to claim their graffiti, which could result in a legal battle over its destruction.