It would be better to go after Spike Lee since he, most likely, has deeper pockets. In any case, if anything happens to the elderly couple Higgins and Lee are both, legally, accomplices to a crime.
While I don't disagree, in principle, it might be somewhat harder to prevail against Lee, legally. I'm sure he has excellent lawyers to shield him from the legal consequences of his own folly. Nailing Higgins *first* could make it easier for Lee to cut a deal, where they would get something...
the infowarrior