Anthony Michael Hall Sued

Insurance company suing Dead Zone star for failing to disclose a mental illness

By Josh Grossberg Mar 20, 2003 10:30 PMTags

Anthony Michael Hall's headed for the legal dead zone.

A Canadian insurance company is suing the onetime Brat Pack nerd to recoup $612,000, claiming Hall failed to divulge a previous mental condition that caused him to miss several days of shooting on USA's The Dead Zone, the Vancouver Sun reports.

Hall was admitted to St. Paul's Hospital on May 11, 2001, suffering from "bipolar affective disorder depression with psychotic features," parlance for manic depression, according to the complaint, filed in British Columbia's Supreme Court by Chubb Insurance of Canada.

In its suit, the company says the actor once known as Sixteen Candles' "Geek" stopped taking his meds when he had the episode, shutting down The Dead Zone until August 14, 2001. As a result, the series' production company, Lions Gate Film Corp., filed a claim with Chubb for $612,000 (or $902,042 Canadian) to recoup money for time lost filming under a force majeure clause in its contract.

After making the payment, court papers indicate Chubb was forced to take legal action against Hall, charging him of negligent representation, in a bid to reclaim the money.

At the heart of its complaint, the company alleges the Dead Zone star did not disclose the mental illness on his insurance form when asked by Chubb if he had been "under a doctor's care for any physical or mental condition during the past five years."

Hall put down that he had been treated for a broken finger in 1994, the suit said.

It's expected that attorneys for Hall will file a response to the allegations, though it's not known when. Hall's manager, Jonathan Brandstein, could not be reached for comment.

Hall, of course, was Hollywood's go-to geek in the 1980s, playing Farmer Ted in Sixteen Candles and Rusty Griswold in National Lampoon's Vacation, wooing Kelly LeBrock in Weird Science and defending math clubs in The Breakfast Club.

After outgrowing those roles, he became the youngest member of the Saturday Night Live Not Ready for Primetime Players. He had had small parts in Edward Scissorhands and Six Degrees of Separation before winning some critical acclaim portraying Bill Gates in TNT's telefilm The Pirates of Silicon Valley.

His other film and TV credits include Johnny Be Good, Caveman's Valentine, Freddy Got Fingered, *61, Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story and All About the Benjamins.

The Dead Zone, based on the Stephen King novel, stars Hall as a teacher who emerges from a coma with psychic powers. Now in its second season, it remains one of USA's top shows and one of the highest-rated programs on basic cable.