A Backstreet Boys singer is suing a senior sunbather for allegedly trespassing onto his private beach outside of his $3.8million Florida mansion.
Brian Littrell, 50, accused Carolyn Barrington Hill, 67, of repeatedly entering his Santa Rosa Beach property without permission and then allegedly shouting and cursing at his family’s property manager.
The civil lawsuit, which was initially filed on September 19, claimed Hill had ‘set out to antagonize, bully, and harass the Littrell family.’
Littrell accused her of trespassing ‘on multiple occasions’ between late April and mid–September, with Littrell and wife Leighanne both filmed talking to beachgoers outside the property.
In Florida, the wet sand and water below the mean high–water line are typically public, while the dry sand above said line can be privately owned.
When Hill was informed that she was on private property, she ‘always refused’ to leave, the suit claimed.
In one instance, Hill was told to leave the private beach by a Walton County Sheriff’s deputy, per video published by News 13 and provided by the Littrells’ attorneys.
However, she accused the Backstreet Boy’s property manager of threatening her with a drill.
‘I’ve been threatened by him, and next time he gets four feet away from me with that drill, I’m bringing out pepper spray,’ Hill said in the video. ‘Am I allowed to do that, when he does this in front of me?’
The Florida senior filed a motion on November 19 to dismiss Littrell’s suit, News 13 reported. A hearing for that is set for December 11.
Hill initially had problems retaining an attorney and had requested an extension because she could not take time off work to deal with the legal case.
The Littrells’ property manager has been recurrently featured on an Instagram account operated by the Shoreline Defender mobile app, which said it touted public beach access and shoreline rights.
Other beachgoers besides Hill have also claimed he threatened them with a drill after he accused them of trespassing onto private property – forcing police to get involved on at least one occasion.
A video posted on August 5 showed a law enforcement officer telling the property manager: ‘If you go near someone else with that f***ing drill in your hand again, I’m going to take you to jail. You get me? Do you understand me?’
The officer said he had been told by two people that ‘they have felt threatened by you because you have a drill in your hand.’
‘It doesn’t matter how you treat it,’ the officer added. ‘Threat’s a perception, is it not?’
He told the Littrells’ property manager that he was ‘walking a fine line.’
A separate clip showed police again confronting the Littrells’ property manager, apparently after a confrontation with a group of female beachgoers.
‘I never used my drill as a weapon,’ the property manager said. ‘Ever.’
The officer told him: ‘Don’t go near them. They are fine.’
The footage showed one of the women asking the police if they should call 911 if the property manager returned and began drilling next to them.
In the suit filed against Hill, the Backstreet Boy alleged that he had been forced to hire security to protect him and his wife Leighanne, 56.
Earlier this year, Littrell had also sued Walton County over alleged trespassers.
In a complaint filed June 19, the Backstreet Boys singer claimed the county sheriff’s office was not doing enough to control trespassers who sunbathed on his private Santa Rosa Beach property.
Littrell filed a writ of mandamus, which is a court order that compels a public official to perform a legally–mandated duty, under his company BLB Beach Hut.
The legal filing said: ‘To protect and have peaceful enjoyment of the Subject Property, BLB has put up several ‘No Trespassing’ signs, as well as chairs, umbrellas and small tables delineating BLB’s private property.’
But, the complaint alleged, Littrell and his company’s efforts had ‘been in vain, as numerous trespassers have set out to antagonize, bully and harass the Littrell family by regularly, every day, trespassing on BLB’s beach on the Subject Property, in open defiance of the law.’
Littrell also claimed that he was ‘forced to hire security to protect’ his family.
He alleged to have filled out a ‘Walton County Trespass Authorization Form’ in April, which authorized the sheriff to ‘warn’ and ‘prosecute’ anyone who stayed on Littrell’s private property after being asked to leave.
The complaint cited previous occasions in which Littrell had allegedly asked for police help.
According to the legal filing, one such instance happened on May 4, when an officer allegedly stated he ‘doesn’t agree with private beaches’ and also described upholding BLB’s constitutional rights as ‘lunacy.’
About a month later, Littrell claimed trespassers committed ‘battery and theft’ after his property manager showed them documentation proving that they were on private property.
Per the complaint, the trespassers responded by ‘yanking a folder’ out of the manager’s hands, which sent the papers inside flying across the beach.
Littrell’s claim alleged that he had evidence proving the Sheriff’s Office was working against him.
That included body camera footage that allegedly showed ‘multiple instances of disrespect’ regarding his property.
Littrell has been married to wife Leighanne since 2000. They have one son – Baylee, 23.
The Backstreet Boys singer purchased the Santa Rosa Beach home in 2023 for $3.8million.
