Terrell Owens’ Child Support Case
A child support dispute between NFL player Terrell Owens and the mother of child, Melanie Paige Smith, is headed to court.
According to reports by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a court hearing has been set for later this month, after Smith accused Owens of refusing to pay the full amount due of his child support for the month of June.
The AJC states:
A Fulton County Superior Court judge set a July 26 hearing to consider Melanie Paige Smith’s request that Owens be held in contempt of court.
Smith’s Atlanta lawyer Randall Kessler said in court papers that Owens has refused to pay his full $5,000 monthly payment.
Kessler said Friday that he’s hoping to hear from Owens or his representatives to clear up the matter.
Owens, a free agent, is recovering from knee surgery and can’t sign with a team until the NFL lockout is resolved. Owens’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, didn’t return messages seeking comment.
Just yesterday, Owens responded to the child support allegations in a statement released by his publicist saying:
We are saddened by Ms. Smith and her attorney’s need to bring this to the public as a news story.
Mr. Owens has never once missed a payment or fell behind in child support payments for any of his children.
When his income changed a few times over the last few years, dramatically decreasing, he continued to pay the child support amounts as they were structured for his previous significantly higher income.
For June 2011, Mr. Owens communicated directly with Ms. Smith to let her know prior that he would only be able to pay half of the month’s support payment on the due date.
T.O.’s response can be read in full here.
