Last month, we wrote about Mel Gibson’s hefty child support bill of $20,000 per month for his 1-year-old daughter. Recently, Mel Gibson and his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva were back in court arguing over several things, including that $20,000 per month bill, child custody, and visitation.
Gibson has already been paying $6,000 per month for the house Grigorieva shares with her mother. Since being ordered to pay the $20,000 monthly, Gibson has withheld payments while he tried to determine if he could deduct the $6,000 housing payment from the $20,000 child support payment.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon denied Gibson’s request that the housing payment be deducted from the child support payment, and ordered Gibson to pay $60,000 in back support.
The matter of child custody and visitation remain unresolved at present. Both Gibson and Grigorieva are seeking custody of their daughter. But, not only does Grigorieva want full custody of the baby, she has requested that the court deny Gibson visitation, alleging he is a danger to the child. Judge Gordon declined to make any decision on this request at this point in the proceedings.
Due to past allegations of abuse and heightened media attention to this case, Gibson is concerned about the potential of more private details and personal information coming to the attention of the media. Because of that concern, he requested a gag order, which would preclude both parties from speaking about the case with the media. Judge Gordon refused to issue a gag order, and Grigorieva taped an hour-long interview with Larry King shortly thereafter. However, Judge Gordon did order the parties’ depositions sealed from public access.
Although the issue of child support is resolved for now, the ultimate issues of child custody and visitation remain to be decided. The next hearing in the Gibson-Grigorieva case is scheduled for next Monday and we will keep you posted when new information is available.
Source: CBS News: Mel Gibson and Oksana Grigorieva Together Again for Closed-Door Custody Hearing; Caroline Black, 11/11/2010
