Sandra Bullock is going to need a lot more than two weeks' notice if and when her alleged stalker is released from a Tennessee mental health facility.
And to make sure she gets it, Bullock's production company, Fortis Films, has filed a lawsuit against the state's Department of Mental Health.
The legal action, which seeks no monetary damages, was filed in Davidson County Circuit Court Sept. 13 and simply attempts to ensure the state complies with an earlier California court order stating Bullock be notified of the man's release.
Thomas James Weldon IV voluntarily entered the state-run Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute in 2003, around the same time the Miss Congeniality star received a restraining order against her overzealous admirer.
According to the 2003 court filing, Bullock claimed Weldon trailed her across several states, from Michigan to Texas to California, and inundated her with emails, faxes and phone calls.
He also reportedly mailed her several gifts, including, inexplicably, a bottle of red nail polish.
As the attempts at contact allegedly grew more aggressive, Bullock sought--and was granted--a permanent restraining order, barring Weldon from coming within 200 yards of her in any state. The injunction was good through June of this year, at which time it was extended (at the actress' request) through 2009.
"She's still concerned about it, and we're concerned about it for her," her attorney, Edwin McPherson, said at the time.
The order also applies to the star's sister, Gesine, an executive at Fortis Films who was also contacted by Weldon, whom the 42-year-old star's attorney told the court was, per "numerous sources," an unmedicated schizophrenic.
While Sandra Bullock has never actually come face to face with Weldon, the new filing states that Fortis wishes to be made aware of his release, so "it can take the steps necessary to protect its employees, who were earlier stalked by Mr. Weldon."
The suit also mentions Weldon's "fixation on a certain employee of Fortis Films," though it failed to mention either the actress or her sister by name.
McPherson says the new lawsuit was simply a precautionary step, because Weldon is under consideration for a 90-day leave of absence.