No “Friends” in this courtroom.
The battle over 40 square feet of deck continues for Jennifer Aniston’s ex Justin Theroux, who appeared in court Wednesday for the first time as his lawyer begged a judge to reign in a neighbor accused of terrorizing the celeb’s West Village co-op.
“We are looking primarily for our property back, and peace,” Theroux’s attorney Eric Sherman said as alleged menace Norman Resnicow, who a day earlier was accused of spousal abuse in related court docs, looked on from the gallery with his arm around his wife.
“We want peace, we want to be left alone in our own home, unmolested by Mr. Resnicow,” Sherman said as his suit-clad client sat in the front row, surrounded by attorneys. Theroux and the “Friends” star announced their amicable split last year following two and a half years of marriage.
Wednesday’s hour-long hearing kicked off with Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Gerald Lebovits telling the parties he thought they’d decided to settle the matter — because Resnicow approached him sobbing with thanks following the last court hearing.
“Mr. Resnicow was crying, deeply and bitterly crying,” the judge said from the bench, prompting Resnicow to stand and cup his hands around his ears to better hear. “Crying at the gratitude […] that my goal is not to destroy him.”
“I did have tears in my eyes,” the 71-year-old offered to no one in particular following the revelation.
Theroux has accused Resnicow, a real estate attorney, of trespassing on his Washington Place property, peeping in windows, harassing his workers — and even caught the man prowling around on his deck after installing security cameras on the outdoor terrance.
The actor and his attorney claim Resnicow’s bizarre behavior began after the star declined Resnicow’s request to install soundproofing during renovations.
At one point, Lebovits asked why the co-op didn’t just evict Resnicow, who moved in around 2004.
“Mr. Resnicow is a lawyer, and he has learned to use his skills to torment this board,” the board’s attorney, Joshua Kopelwitz said.
Sherman added that the other residents in the co-op aren’t equipped to “go toe-to-toe with Mr. Resnicow. He will kill them with paper. This is a sport to him.”
“We don’t have a choice here, because Mr. Resnicow cannot control his impulses,” barked Sherman.
“If you really want to control him, just go for the jugular and evict him already,” Lebovits offered.
Resnicow’s attorney, Peter Levine, at one point became so enlivened during his own arguments — as he defined “staircase” and “bottom” for the court — that he twice pounded on the table while saying the deck belonged to his client.
“Have you ever heard the expression that if you if don’t have a good argument, pound the table?” Lebovits quipped, prompting a chuckle from Theroux.
Sherman called Levine’s arguments “20 minutes of pretzel logic to back up a post-hoc land grab” and said the neighbors had lived amicably near one another for 11 years before Resnicow suddenly decided the terrace encroached on his property.
Lebovits declined to issue any rulings but instructed Levine to tell his client to “be more easygoing” and stay away from Theroux and the other tenants.
“I don’t want to send him to jail,” the judge added.
Both Theroux and Resnicow declined comment as they left court.