Is Diddy a deadbeat daddy?
A New York judge has ordered the hip-hop mogul otherwise known as Sean "P. Diddy" Combs to pony up $35,000 a month in child support to fashion stylist Misa Hylton-Brim, with whom he has a 10-year-old son.
The 13-page decision by Westchester Family Court Judge David Klein upholds a previous ruling in August that upped the rap tycoon's monthly payments for his son, Justin, from less than $3,000 per month to $35,000.
Additionally, the judge also ordered Combs to pony up more than $398,000 in back-support payments, including all educational and medical expenses, to maintain a life-insurance policy and fork over $60,000 in legal fees to Hylton-Brim's lawyer, Brett Kimmel.
Kimmel could not be reached for comment, but he told the New York Post that the ruling was issued because the hip-hop star, despite his multimillion-dollar annual income, had failed to live up to his parental responsibilities.
"He's thumbing his nose at the court and at my client," Kimmel told the New York Post. "He hasn't adhered to the order for the past three months. He's in complete and total default."
Combs' attorney, Stephen Gassman, disputed that assertion, stating that Combs already provides substantial support for Justin.
"This is a gross abuse of discretion by the court. We are confident it will be overturned on appeal," Gassman said in a statement. "This is not about child support. This is about adult support. Any increase in support will be likely utilized to enhance Misa Hylton-Brim and her two other children's lifestyle rather than in any way benefit Mr. Combs' already well-provided-for son."
In arguing their case, Combs' legal team pointed to a 1996 agreement between Combs and Hylton-Brim that stipulated the rap star was to pay $2,795 in child support per month when his son was two years old, which would later drop to $1,290 by the time the boy turned 14.
Additionally, a source close to the rapper added that Combs has voluntarily doled out much more than that--around $5,512 a month to Hylton-Brim since 2002. He has also thrown in an extra $20,000 to cover clothing expenses, private-school tuition and medical bills.
The source added that Combs also picked up the down payment on his ex's mansion and that Hylton-Brim's not exactly in the poorhouse. Her income alone is $400,000 a year from the styling she has done for fellow hip-hopsters such as Lil' Kim and Mary J. Blige.
Last August's order by Westchester Family Court Support Magistrate Carol James is thought to be the highest court-mandated child-support payments in U.S. history.
During the hearings, Hylton-Brim testified that her former partner once stated he was earning more than $50 million a year. But since Combs never disclosed documents detailing his net worth, save a tax return revealing he made $16 million in 2002, the judge decided that the increase would essentially be based on Hylton-Brim's testimony about his being Daddy Warbucks.
This isn't the first time Diddy has been taken to the cleaners over child support.
A few years back, he was the target of a paternity suit brought by ex-gal-pal Kim Porter, who sued the entertainer in order to have him formally declared the father of six-year-old Christian Casey Combs.
Combs eventually settled that suit and was granted joint custody. Although the financial terms of the settlement were kept under wraps, Porter's lawyer indicated that Combs would be coughing up well over the $11,000 a month in child support he had previously agreed to pay until Christian turned 21.