LOCAL : Madonna Ordered to Trim Hedge

Pop superstar Madonna has been ordered by a judge to trim one of her hedges and a tree so that a neighbor can enjoy his million-dollar view of the city, court records showed today.

Superior Court Judge Sally Disco, in a ruling issued late Wednesday, ordered Madonna to keep an acacia hedge at the bottom of her driveway trimmed to eight feet and to keep a pine tree south of her pool level with a roof below.

Real estate broker Donald Robinson had sued Madonna, alleging that she had failed to comply with an agreement when she bought her Beverly Highlands home in 1989 to trim several hedges and trees that blocked his view from his house next door.

Robinson also contended that the loss of the panoramic view dropped the value of his $3.5-million home by $1 million.

Madonna claimed that the shrubbery was necessary for her security and countersued, alleging that Robinson trespassed on her property and that a tenant threw things over her hedge, shouted at her and spied on her through a hole in the hedge.