Burt Reynolds says foreclosure lawsuit of Hobe Sound waterfront Indian Hills estate surprised him

STUART, Fla. - Veteran actor Burt Reynolds, who is facing a foreclosure lawsuit on his Hobe Sound waterfront Indian Hills estate, said on Wednesday that the legal action took him off guard.

The foreclosure lawsuit filed Aug. 9 by Merrill Lynch Credit Corp. against Reynolds, BankAtlantic and Great Eastern Mortgage, contends the Emmy-award winning actor has not made a mortgage payment since Sept. 1, 2010, on the home in the 16000 block of South Federal Highway.

A May 6 letter warning of the foreclosure litigation and the lawsuit summons were sent to Reynolds at the address belonging to an accounting firm based in Little Rock, Ark., instead of to his Indian Hills home in Hobe Sound.

Reynolds, 75, on Wednesday issued a statement through his California publicist Erik Kritzer.

“With regard to the foreclosure action filed by Merrill Lynch on my house, for several reasons I am as surprised as everyone,” Reynolds wrote in an email. “I thought my career and my life could not be going better. To all of the people who have had such faith in me and stuck by me through thick and thin, thank you.

“I know it is not the end of the world,” Reynolds added. “There are a lot of people worse off than I am, and my heart goes out to them. I’ll do like I’ve always done, and try to hold my head up high.”

According to the suit, filed in Martin County Circuit Court, Merrill Lynch is asking a judge to order the home sold to satisfy all debts, and for a receiver to be appointed to the case.