An actress who lived for nearly two years with former Lakers coach Rudy Tomjanovich and his wife, Sophie, at their former Pacific Palisades home testified Thursday that she saw only minimal water-related problems.
Testifying on behalf of the Tomjanoviches in the trial of money manager Steven Bardack's lawsuit against the couple, Ryanne Duzich corroborated Sophie Tomjanovich's prior testimony when she said told a Los Angeles Superior Court jury that the only leaks she saw were near the front entrance of the San Onofre Drive residence.
Bardack, founder of Strata Capital, maintains in his December 2008 lawsuit that the home had extensive water leaks and problems with mold that the Tomjanoviches did not tell him about when they sold it to him for $6.5 million in 2007.
The Tomjanoviches have filed a cross-complaint against their real estate agents, Coldwell Banker.
Duzich said she lived with the Tomjanoviches from September 2004 until August 2006. She said she was not required to pay rent, but often picked up the tab when they all went out to dinner.
Duzich said she saw leaks near the home's entryway on two different occasions during rains in early 2005. She said a handyman made repairs after the second leak and it stopped altogether after that.
She also saw water condensation on drywall in the same part of the home in April 2006. Duzich said her boyfriend knew a repairman named Victor Corona who could fix the problem, so she called the man to come out and inspect the situation.
"He looked at it and said he could do it," Duzich said.
Corona sent out a crew and the problem was fixed, she said.
Duzich -- who had roles in the 2004 film "Friday Night Lights," which starred Billy Bob Thornton, and the 2009 movie "Kill Theory" -- also testified she did not see mold anywhere in the home or water stains under balconies.
Tomjanovich and his wife bought the home from "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis for $4.25 million after the former NBA forward was hired in 2004 to replace Phil Jackson when he left after his initial stint as coach of the Lakers.
Francis purchased the home in 1999 and enlarged it from its original size of 800 square feet.
Tomjanovich, now 63, resigned as the Lakers' coach after 41 games because of health issues.
