Matt Damon Lands in Los Angeles as Lawsuit Over ‘The Rip’ Gains Momentum

Matt Damon flew from a private airstrip in Utah to Van Nuys Airport on May 17, a flight of just 82 minutes in his Bombardier Global 7500, N444WT. He had been in the Utah desert for the better part of a week, based on recent flight records showing trips between Van Nuys and a pair of rural airstrips in Kane County and Grand County.

The same week Damon returned to Los Angeles, two Miami-Dade sheriff’s sergeants sued his production company Artists Equity, arguing that the Netflix film “The Rip” — which Damon co-stars in and co-produced — borrows so many specific details from a real 2016 drug-money seizure that it defames them. NBC News and CNN both reported on the suit this week, which seeks damages and a public retraction. Damon told the AP in January that he and Ben Affleck spent time with Miami narcotics officers to prepare for the film; the plaintiffs say the fictional characters’ misconduct has harmed their real-world reputations.

The trip fits a pattern: Damon frequently shuttles between Los Angeles and New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport, his stated home base, but he also uses the Van Nuys field as a staging point for production meetings and business tied to Artists Equity. This return to L.A. arrives as legal attention on the company sharpens.