Actor Randy Quaid suing Carmel bond company

A bizarre dispute stemming from actor Randy Quaid’s 2010 arrest for allegedly living in someone else’s California home will play out in a Hamilton County courtroom.

The Christmas Vacation star has sued Carmel bond company American Surety for allegedly posting bail for him and his wife on two occasions without the Quaids’ consent, leaving the couple on the hook for now-forfeited bonds.

The first came in September 2010, when Quaid and his wife, Evgenia, were charged with burglary for staying at the Montecito home of Warner Bros. executive Bruce Berman without permission. According to documents filed in Hamilton County Superior Court, Quaid disputes Berman’s ownership, saying his family, which at one time owned the home, never transferred the deed to Berman’s name.

American Surety posted two $50,000 bonds for the couple, but the Quaids contend in an April 10 court filing that they never authorized the company to post bond on their behalf.

“The Quaids believed that criminal charges were no longer being pursued and that their release was not procured via bonds posted, but because the charges were dropped and the issue would proceed instead as a civil matter between Mr. Berman and the Quaids,” attorney Michael Einterz Jr. wrote. “The Quaids did not enter into a written agreement with American or its agent to provide the $50,000 bonds and did not agree to pay any sums to American or its agent in exchange for the bonds.”

A month later, the Quaids were detained by immigration police in Vancouver after a California judge issued a bench warrant for their arrest. They missed a hearing scheduled for Oct. 18, 2010, but the Quaids say they were never notified that a court date had been set.

This time, American Surety issued two $500,000 bonds on the Quaids’ behalf. They were forfeited a month later when the couple did not attend a Nov. 2 hearing, leaving the Quaids on the hook for repayment, the company contends.

Again, the Quaids say they didn’t know about the hearing or the bonds. The couple was released by immigration because Evgenia Quaid’s father has Canadian citizenship.

The Quaids are seeking unspecified damages for lost wages and “emotional distress.”

Noblesville lawyer Alex Nickloy, listed in court filings as an attorney for American Surety, declined to comment. American Surety has an Indianapolis address, but is located on the Hamilton County side of 96th Street.

Quaid has been nominated for an Academy Award for his role in 1973’s The Last Detail, but is perhaps best known for playing Cousin Eddie in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. He also appeared in Brokeback Mountain and Independence Day.

He has been plagued by legal troubles in recent years. In 2006, he filed and then dropped a lawsuit against the makers of Brokeback Mountain for fleecing him into working for low pay. And in 2009, he and his wife were arrested in Texas for allegedly skipping out on a $10,000 California hotel bill.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Call Star reporter Brian Eason at (317) 444-6129. Follow him on Twitter: @brianeason.