Halle Berry's on shaky ground.

That's not a reference to the Oscar-winning actress' rock-solid career--she's got at least four movies expected to hit multiplexes over the next two years. Instead, it's Berry's Beverly Hills mansion that's causing her and hubby Eric Ben?t a mountain of problems.

Berry's filed a $2 million lawsuit in Santa Monica Thursday against the man who sold her the manse in 2001, claiming the house needs more than a $1 million patch-up job.

The thesp's case is the latest salvo in a tit-for-tat battle with the previous homeowners. It comes in response to a suit filed earlier this week by Jonathan and Alison Roth, who claim that Berry was fully aware of the property's condition and still agreed to buy the residence "as-is."

Berry maintains that it was only after more than $2 million had changed hands that she and Ben?t found out about "numerous geological defects" that would cost them an extra $1 million to repair.

The property's foundation was critical to Berry, who planned to build a new house on the land. She claims the couple told her the construction plans were do-able because of the stable bedrock five feet below ground level.

According to the suit, it was only after Berry bought the property that she learned of the high price it would cost to stabilize the ground before she could build on it.

A statement from Berry's rep at Image Management Public Relations suggests the former homeowners filed their own fraud suit June 10 after Berry rejected a cash settlement and announced her intentions to sue for fraud and breach of contract.

"Aware that they were going to be sued for substantial damages, the Roths initiated a preemptive lawsuit, claiming they were somehow defrauded in their sale of property that contained defective conditions," said the statement released Thursday.

The actress also weighed in on her legal woes. "I'm shocked that I would get sued for buying property when the property that was sold to me is now going to require extensive corrective measures costing over $1 million that I had not been told would be required at the time I purchased the property," said Berry in a written statement.

But every suit has two sides.

An attorney for the Roths claims the X-Men 2 star was aware of the home's "as-is" sale sticker and had 30 days to inspect the property.

"Ms. Berry, her experts and her lawyers knew full well what they were buying and what they were doing," said attorney Dale F. Kinsella in a statement released Thursday. "This case simply will not entitle Ms. Berry to claim that she 'doesn't remember' what happened."

"We are confident that the court will promptly determine that the Roths have done absolutely nothing wrong, and that they will be fully vindicated and compensated for the loss they have suffered," he added.

According to court documents filed by the Roths, "the agreement further afforded the opportunity to cancel the deal for any reason, or no reason at all, during the 30 days if she so chose.

"Continuously throughout the 30-day period, a virtual army of experts hired by Ms. Berry inspected every conceivable aspect of the Roths' property. These experts included multiple geologists, as well as engineers, contractors and architects.

"The Roths did everything they could to accommodate Ms. Berry's requests. Most importantly, during the 30-day period, Ms. Berry was provided with extensive and voluminous disclosures of the condition of the property," reads the statement.

"Moreover, Ms. Berry's experts fully revealed to her everything for which she now complains. Armed with this knowledge, Ms. Berry waived all of the contingencies under the agreement and proceeded to close the transaction."

According to the Roths, Berry and business manager Jeff Wolman cooked up a scheme to blame the original homeowners if the tab of building her "dream mansion" cost more than expected.

Now, the Roths, who claim to have been "subjected to a campaign of intimidation and threats" since selling to the camera-friendly star, want the dispute resolved by "a judge and jury."

Given Berry's heavy production schedule over the next year, it's unlikely she would become a Beverly Hills homebody even if the "dream mansion" ever gets built. Montreal is temporarily home to the actress while she shoots the psychological horror flick Gothika, due in theaters this October. Then Berry moves on to production of Catwoman, slated for a fall 2004 release. Then comes the James Bond spinoff Jinx, scheduled for a 2005 release. Plus Berry will lend her voice to the animated feature Robot, due in 2005.