Explosions During Filming Damaged Home, Suit Says

An explosive battle scene from the film “The General’s Daughter,” may have landed on the editing room floor, but the fallout is still being felt by one Thousand Oaks couple.

The on-screen battle filmed in the Lake Sherwood area turned into a real-life legal battle when Robert and Deborah Miller filed a lawsuit contending their home sustained $500,000 in damage and their health was unduly affected by the 200 explosions used during the filming.

Although the blasts were several hundred yards away, the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges they “literally shook [the Millers’] house to pieces.” The house has fallen into such disrepair that the couple had to move into a rented trailer while they await major renovation to the ceilings, walls, floors, garage support beams and attic, they said.

“I’ve never seen anything demoralize [Deborah] the way the damage to this house has,” said Robert Miller, 72. “This has been the hardest thing on her in our marriage.”

The suit asserts the explosions also damaged the health of the couple, who are both cancer survivors. Deborah Miller, 66, has suffered anxiety attacks and chronic insomnia and at one point, she was taken to the hospital for chest pains, the lawsuit alleges.

Robert Miller, a veterinarian who is the author of “Most of My Patients Are Animals,” has also started grinding his teeth because of the stress, he said.

Paramount Pictures would not discuss the case.

“The only comment that we can give is that we don’t comment on pending litigation,” said Blaise Noto, a studio spokesman.

Mace Neufeld Productions was also named as a defendant, but could not be reached for comment.

Last fall, the couple were notified of the planned filming but were not ready for what they described as hundreds of explosions that ensued.

“Nobody slept that night,” said Robert Miller. “Helicopters came buzzing over the house. There were explosions. My horses went crazy.”

Miller climbed out of bed and gave tranquilizers to his horses. His wife, he said, was already inconsolable.

“This is going to destroy our house,” she told her husband.

The lawsuit says several areas of the house endured extensive damage. Entire sections of the kitchen ceiling had separated from the support beams, opening cracks between the attic and living area, the couple say, adding that concrete sections around the exterior of the house, including the driveway and deck around the pool also had cracked.

The garage door now won’t open, they say, the roof leaks and there are spider-web cracks that run throughout the floor and retaining walls of the garage and downstairs living areas.

Upset by the damage, the couple called the film’s location director, who visited the house, apologized and took pictures. She assured the Millers that the studio would cover damage costs, the couple said.

But when Paramount’s insurance company contacted the Millers, they were told the studio would cover only cosmetic damage, the couple said.

Repair work is scheduled to begin soon.

“One thing we are concerned about is daily we find new cracks,” Robert Miller said.

Six other neighborhood houses were also damaged, but it is unclear how many other complaints have been filed.

The couple’s attorney, Adam Siegler, confirmed Thursday that he has been in settlement discussions with the opposing parties.