“Ferris Bueller” star Edie McClurg, 77, suffers from dementia and now her legal team is fighting to get a man who has been living with her out of her home.
In documents filed on Tuesday as a request for a temporary restraining order, McClurg’s lawyers said a man named Michael Ramos claims to be McClurg’s “long time friend” and was able to “ingratiate himself into (her) life while she was battling dementia.”
McClurg’s team wrote that Ramos is unemployed and “was able to finagle his way into (McClurg’s) home even though he has never paid any rent or expenses.”
The complaint also claims Ramos tried to take McClurg, who is under a conservatorship, out of the state of California “in order to marry her when he knew she lacked capacity.”
A 2019 court order mandated Ramos not go through with the nuptials, but allowed him to keep living with McClurg, according to documents obtained by TODAY.
The complaint says the two have “never been romantically involved,” but that a caretaker for McClurg filed a criminal complaint against Ramos that accused him of assaulting her in McClurg’s home “on more than one occasion.”
Per the complaint, the caretaker also reported she is concerned Ramos “either has been or may be currently assaulting (McClurg) in a similar manner and that given her diagnosis of dementia, she may not even realize that it has been or is occurring.”
The complaint goes on to say that even if Ramos is not abusing McClurg, his presence is “causing severe emotional distress and mental suffering.”
Ramos’ lawyer denied that he was abusive to the caretaker or McClurg.
“These are false allegations brought about by Ms. McClurg’s conservator and her counsel who have made it their mission to overturn orders issued by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge allowing Ms. McClurg’s long-term companion/fiancé to continue to reside with her at her home,” Estelle & Kennedy, A Professional Law Corporation, told TODAY in a statement. “Despite the seriousness of the allegations, we are not aware of any criminal charges pending against this individual, nor do we expect there to be any.”
Last month, McClurg’s legal team filed a petition to remove Ramos from the property following the allegations of the caretaker. In his response to the petition, Ramos denied that he had been abusive to either woman.
“Angelique Cabral (McClurg’s conservator) wants me to be removed from the residence and uses mere lies and speculation that I have harmed or may harm Edie and that is a lie that I cannot live with and must defend,” Ramos said in his response, in part. “I did not harm Edie McClurg and I would not harm Edie McClurg.”
In 2017, according to court documents, McClurg’s doctors found that she was “no longer able to handle her own affairs given severe cognitive dysfunction, is not capable of living alone without supervision and assistance, and is especially vulnerable to undue influence given her poor judgment and evident dementia (likely due to Alzheimer’s disease).” She was then placed under a conservatorship in February 2019.
McClurg’s legal team declined to speak to TODAY.
Ramos is next slated to appear in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Aug. 25 for the restraining order case.
McClurg has a lengthy and varied resume in Hollywood. She appeared in famous films such as “Carrie” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and television classics like “The Hogan Family.” She was also a prolific voice actor, lending her voice to characters in many animated films like “Frozen,” “Cars” and “A Bug’s Life.”
