Long Island Man Sues Netflix For Damaging His Home During Filming

A 92-year-old Valley Stream veteran and his son have filed a lawsuit against Netflix for breaching a contract and damaging the home they used during a shoot in 2017.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court, Sidney Price and his son Richard claim that Paramount, filming a series for Netflix, damaged his Price's home on Sherwood Street, broke the contract the parties had signed, damaged memorabilia that was worth thousands of dollars and lost some of Price's irreplaceable family photos, some of which were of family members who were Holocaust survivors.

Price, who flew as a tail gunner over the Pacific in World War II, claims that Paramount scouted his house as a location for shooting for the series "Maniac," starring Emma Stone and Jonah Hill. They agreed to 10 days of shooting and preparatory work, for which Price was paid $15,500.

As part of the agreement, the production crew was going to film on the first floor of Price's home. He claims the producer told him filming would be limited to the kitchen, dining room and living room.

When filming began, Price says that the company began to pack up his belongings and load them onto a truck, which was not part of his agreement. He claims that one of the workers told him, "We're Netflix. We can do what we want." There was a police officer overseeing the shooting, and Price asked him to stop them from loading up his things, but the officer allegedly told him he'd have to go to the precinct and file a report. When he did, the officer at the station told him it was a contractual matter and the police wouldn't get involved.

Price says that he and his son had large boxes blocking the stairs to stop people from going to the second floor. Those boxes, which were full of celebrity memorabilia that Price's son sells as a second business, were tossed around and damaged, they claim, ruining the merchandise inside. He claims they also packed up and moved all the boxes in Price's two-car garage.

At one point, the lawsuit says that workers tried to remove a window from the kitchen to film, and Price refused to let them. He stood in front of the window for hours, not letting anyone take it out. This caused him significant stress, the lawsuit claims, and Price was rushed to the hospital with chest pains and suffered a minor heart attack.

Price claims the crew damaged his fence, and also removed two large, decades-old bushes from his property. In order to fix all of the problems, Price claims that Paramount hired unlicensed contractors to come in and make repairs.

In addition to the damages, Price says Paramount lost many boxes of his personal belongings. Among them were pictures of his family members that survived the Holocaust, photos of dead relatives, his wedding photos, pictures of his wife, many other family photos, and valuable china and other household items.

Price is suing Paramount for unspecified damages, including compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney's fees.

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