Stephen Amell goes ‘wild’ in court after losing battle against animal rescue
He might want to put his bow down.
“Arrow” star Stephen Amell went “wild” in court after losing a battle in his lawsuit against an animal rescue group, we’re told.
Amell requested a Los Angeles court shut down Rescues Rock and force it to move from its Laurel Canyon location, but a judge ruled that Amell and his wife, Cassandra Jean, were “not likely to prevail” at a trial and even went so far as to say the public would “suffer greater harm” if the rescue had been moved, court documents obtained by Page Six show.
One source close to the rescue group tells Page Six exclusively that the actor started “yelling” after the judge ruled against him; however, a second source tells us that Amell simply was “not pleased.”
“He left the courtroom and was glaring at the Rescues Rock group,” our second source shares.
“This is now the second time in the span of two months that the Amells unsuccessfully have sought a court order shutting down Rescues Rock,” attorney Jeremy Osher says in a statement to Page Six.
“We are pleased with the court’s decision, which allows Rescues Rock to continue with its important mission.”
The case will continue and eventually go to trial.
“I didn’t so much as open my mouth in that courtroom or make eye contact with the defendants,” Amell told us via text message late Thursday, adding that the opposition was trying to “smear” him.
“If there were a shred of truth to this I wouldn’t be sending this text.”
Amell’s attorney, Erik Jackson, added in a statement: “Yesterday the court issued a ruling on a preliminary matter that has no binding effect on the ultimate resolution of this case other than to note that the facts appear to be in dispute. The Amells look forward to commencing discovery and to the complete resolution of this dispute in their favor. This is only the beginning of what may be a long process.
“…At a prior court hearing in this case, Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff stated that ‘I have no doubt that if there is no license, they [the Rescues Rock defendants] will be shut down. It is ridiculous that it [the animal rescue / pet adoption operation] is going on in a residential neighborhood.'”
The couple sued Rescues Rock in September, claiming defendants Kristen Stavola and Jeremy Gardiner were running a “large illegal animal kennel operation” on residential plots of land without a permit. They claimed the operation was a “substantial nuisance” that prevented them from enjoying their personal property.
Despite describing themselves as animal lovers in their complaint, Amell, 41, and Jean, 37, alleged the rescue group’s “canines bark loudly at all hours of the night and day, continuously waking the Amells, their newborn child and eight-year old daughter.”
“In addition, the RRI Defendants do not properly sanitize their residential real properties or clean up substantial animal waste, resulting in overpowering stench and odors emanating from the properties and onto the Amells’ property,” the documents claimed.
In response, Stavola said in court documents that her business has never operated as a kennel and even went so far as to claim Amell and Jean have volunteered at their shelter.
“As recently as September 21, 2022 the City of Los Angeles Animal Service Department conducted an inspection of the premises without incident, citation, or findings of any unlawful activity whatsoever,” the documents read.
Amell’s purported temper has made headlines in the past. The “Code 8” star was removed from a flight in 2021 after getting into an altercation with his wife, whom he married in 2012.
“I mean, maybe I destroyed my entire life, my entire career? So, I think, ultimately, very ashamed of it, trying to make amends for it, specifically with my wife,” he later said during an appearance on “Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum” podcast.
“I had too many drinks, and I had too many drinks in a public place, and I got on a plane,” he confessed. “I was pissed off about something else that had nothing to do with Cass, my wife, and I picked a fight. Just picked a fight because I wanted to be loud and upset.”
The couple went on to welcome their second child after the plane incident.
