JIM BELUSHI - JUDGE TRIES TO KEEP BELUSHI + NEWMAR BATTLE OUT OF COURT

The judge overseeing actor JIM BELUSHI's bitter legal battle with neighbour JULIE NEWMAR is urging the couple to sort out their differences outside court.

Belushi is suing former BATMAN star Newmar for $4 million (GBP2.1 million), claiming harassment and defamation, to end a 10-year long neighbourhood battle between the two over noise pollution and development.

But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge PATRICIA COLLINS insists the couple should do whatever they can to avoid a lengthy, messy trial.

In court yesterday (14FEB05) Belushi's lawyer, EVAN SPIEGEL, insisted the abuse his client has taken during the ongoing battle with his angry neighbour is too extreme for him to sit down and talk terms with Newmar.

Spiegel told Collins, "It goes to harassment, vandalism, the defendant vandalising my client's house with eggs. It goes on and on."

In court documents obtained by US news show CELEBRITY JUSTICE, BLUES BROTHERS 2000 star Belushi accuses Newmar of destroying landscaping and a fence that separates her property from his. She's also accused of maliciously telling tabloid the NATIONAL ENQUIRER that Belushi is a "peeping Tom," a "voyeur" and "sick".