LOS ANGELES, Aug. 24 A Los Angeles judge denied a lawyer's petition to force "Baywatch" star David Hasselhoff to pay a $189,000 legal bill for his ex-wife in their custody battle.
In his decision, Superior Judge Mark A. Juhas ruled Debra Opri, who represented Pamela Bach in the custody matter, did not obtain proper authorization from her client to recoup costs from Hasselhoff, E! News reported Thursday. Opri argued her retainer agreement with Bach gave the lawyer the right to seek costs from Hasselhoff.
Bach fired Opri after Hasselhoff, recently a judge for "America's Got Talent," gained custody of the couple's two teenage daughters.
In another matter, another judge agreed to review Opri's request to seek $600,000 from Larry Birkhead for representing him in his paternity case involving the child of the late Anna Nicole Smith.
Opri and Birkhead parted ways before DNA testing revealed the photographer was the father Smith's daughter, Dannielynn, and a Bahamian court awarded him custody.
Birkhead sued Opri in June for fraud and legal malpractice, claiming that she wrongfully withheld $505,250 from a media deal. Opri said the money was hers because it was used to pay his bill.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
