Claudia Schiffer and a ‘chainsaw massacre’ of neighbour’s trees
F1 boss may sue the supermodel he accuses of cutting down two pines next to his Mallorca house to improve her view of the sea
THE supermodel Claudia Schiffer faces claims she had two trees on a neighbour’s property chopped down because they were blocking her view, and may have to appear in court in Mallorca, where she has a holiday home, over the allegations.
Willi Weber, the multi-millionaire former manager of F1 racing driver Michael Schumacher, is reportedly suing Miss Schiffer and her British husband, the film producer Matthew Vaughn, after discovering the 30ft pine trees had been removed.
He says a specialist hired by the couple trespassed on his land after ignoring a warning to leave the trees alone, and used a chainsaw on them. He said the trees were next to his bedroom.
The newspaper Diario de Mallorca said the specialist and the couple’s staff gardener have already been questioned by an examining magistrate. If the case is pursued, Miss Schiffer and her husband could be required to appear in front of a judge.
Mr Weber is said to have lodged his complaint after the trees disappeared from his garden next to Miss Schiffer’s house in Camp de Mar in July last year. He told a German newspaper that he had received an apology from Mr Vaughn, the producer of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. He claimed: “Matthew Vaughn apologised to me and said what had happened was an accident and they thought the trees were on their plot.”
Mr Weber also told Bild am Sonntag he planned to build a high wall between his home and his neighbour’s and bill them for the cost. “Otherwise,” he told the newspaper, “I will plant so many trees that they can only smell the sea.”
The German manager, who made a name in the motorsport world by discovering such as Michael Schumacher and his brother Ralf, has in the past represented Claudia Schiffer, 45, through his Stuttgart-based management firm.
He could not be reached for comment yesterday. Mr Weber claimed in legal papers filed with the investigating court that a gardener acting on Miss Schiffer’s orders cut pine trees on her land on July 6 2015, Diario de Mallorca reported.
It said the two trees on his land were cut down on July 22 despite him warning the model and her staff not to trespass on his property after clearing up branches that had fallen into his garden after the earlier incident.
Her gardener reportedly told a judge that he got a specialist in to do the job after Miss Schiffer told him to cut down a pine tree on her land. The specialist, who has also given evidence, is said to have admitted chopping down the two pine trees because they were riddled with disease.
Mr Weber says the disappearance of the trees deprived him of shade and is claiming that he believes Ms Schiffer and her husband acted the way they did because they wanted to improve their sea view so they could increase the sale price of their property.