LAGUNA BEACH : Real Life ‘War of the Roses’ Rages On

A Laguna Beach woman, convicted of enlisting two men who used a burning flare to force her ex-husband into signing a property settlement, has agreed to settle a civil lawsuit filed by her former husband.

The settlement Monday came moments before a trial was scheduled to begin into an assault and battery lawsuit brought by Harold Ruppert, 68, against his ex-wife, Helen Ruppert, 64.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. The lawsuit arose out of a January 1991 incident in which Helen Ruppert hired two men who forced her ex-husband to sign a $600,000 property settlement by holding a burning flare close to Harold Ruppert’s groin.

Richard William Nimmo and Ralph Thomas Pueschel later pleaded guilty to assault, extortion and false imprisonment and received jail sentences of five months and four months, respectively.

Nimmo and Pueschel testified against Helen Ruppert, who was sentenced to informal probation and fined $10,000 after her conviction on charges of conspiracy, extortion, burglary and assault with a deadly weapon.

The criminal case was likened to the film “The War of the Roses” as details emerged about the Rupperts 3 1/2-year marriage and bitter post-divorce battle over $11 million in assets. Although the couple had been divorced for five years, they continued to share the same house overlooking the Pacific in Laguna Beach because of their inability to agree on a property settlement.

William Woo, a Santa Ana lawyer who represented Harold Ruppert, said Thursday his client was happy with the settlement of the civil case. “It has resolved numerous issues that clouded over both parties for many years,” Woo said.

The lawyer said the fact that Pueschel was present and ready to testify in the case “hastened the settlement significantly.” The ex-husband was seeking unspecified damages.

Helen Ruppert’s attorney, Lawrence Morse of Alhambra, was unavailable for comment.

Woo said the legal battles between the Rupperts were far from over. Woo said he recently filed another lawsuit on behalf of the ex-husband challenging Helen Ruppert’s interest in the Laguna Beach home, which Helen and Harold Ruppert continue to share.