MJ-UPBEAT
September 6, 2006
Michael Jackson To Pay Ex Wifes Attorney Fees!
A judge ordered Michael Jackson Wednesday to pay $60,000 to ex-wife Deborah Rowe Jackson to cover her attorneys' fees in their ongoing post-divorce battle.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert A. Schnider gave the entertainer until Sept. 28 to meet the order. Schnider noted that Rowe received a financial settlement of $8 million from Jackson.
"She has millions of dollars, so she should be able to contribute to her own fees," Schnider said.
Rowe had asked for about $195,000 in attorneys' fees, according to her lawyers, Eric M. George and Marta Almli. Rowe had "no present ability" to pay her lawyers, George said.
Jackson's lawyer, Michael L. Abrams, had sought a delay in any award until after Tuesday, when the attorneys would participate in a private voluntary settlement conference.
"Hopefully all issues will be settled," Abrams said. "In one week, this case may be over."
Rowe originally had visitation rights with the couple's son, Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., born in 1997, and daughter, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, born in 1998.
She filed for divorce in 1999 and later gave up her visitation rights, but changed her mind after Jackson was arrested on child molestation charges.
A panel of the Second District state Court of Appeal ruled in her favor earlier in 2006.
Source:CBS News
paul(mjcool)