NBA legend Paul Pierce has been taken back to court by the mother of his child, who is demanding £30,000 in legal fees. Princes Santiago claims the Boston Celtics icon failed to provide all relevant financial information she requested in the case.
The 49-year-old former basketball star and Santiago, who share a young son named King Rafael Santiago Pierce, have been locked in a long and intense legal battle since January. In the latest twist, Santiago alleges Pierce did not produce all pages of his bank statements and did not provide certain information on his trust distributions and assets.
Court orders and new demands
Following the ongoing dispute, Pierce has been ordered to pay $8,508 (£6,437) a month in child support and $110,000 (£83,222) in a one-off payment. The one-off payment consists of $100,000 (£75,656) in legal fees and $10,000 (£7,566) for a forensic accountant – which Santiago claims was unpaid.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, as of October 12, she is demanding an extra $40,000 (£30,277) in legal fees and the allegedly unpaid $10,000.
Financial disclosure allegations
During the hearing, Santiago claimed that information on Pierce’s cannabis company, his Fox Sports 1 income and his ownership interest in commercial property failed to be produced. The NBA star, who won a championship with the Celtics in 2008 against Kobe Bryant’s Lakers, allegedly earned over $200m (£151m) during his playing days – a claim made by Santiago during the bitter dispute.
Pierce previously told the court that he was not earning massive amounts of money as he did during his basketball career, and pleaded that any award he was ordered to pay reflected his present financial situation. Santiago originally claimed she wanted $30,000 (£22,708) a month in child support on top of the $100,000 (£75,693) in legal fees, after initially filing a paternity lawsuit.
