Birkhead Wants Opri's Accounts on Ice

Larry Birkhead wants his money in his pocket, but, in the meantime, he'll settle for keeping it on ice.

Anna Nicole Smith's baby daddy filed Tuesday for a preliminary injunction to prevent his former attorney, Debra Opri, from accessing any of the cash in her client trustee account, or any other bank account, that is supposedly earmarked either for him or his legal bills, as well as any assets she may have purchased with those funds.

Birkhead's motion also covers the $866,250 he alleges Opri kept in her attorney-client trust account after he inked a $1.05 million deal with "an unnamed television network" (reportedly NBC Universal) to make a series of appearances on various shows. (Birkhead was a frequent presence on MSNBC throughout the proceedings.)

The recently established father of one sued the Los Angeles-based family attorney on June 1 for fraud and malpractice, accusing Opri of taking the aforementioned sum and of sticking him with bogus legal fees. He claims that he has only received $200,000 from the TV deal, which was brokered by IMG Broadcasting, and that Opri has repeatedly refused his requests to hand over the rest.

"This is a classic example of the dangers of one's own attorney participating in overreaching conduct to the financial detriment of the client," state court documents obtained by E! Online. (View the motion.)

If granted, the injunction would prohibit Opri from "transferring, conveying, assigning, hypothecating, using or concealing" any of the funds placed in any of her accounts "to or for the benefit of the Plaintiff," the motion states.

"Based on the past conduct of Opri, there is imminent danger that Plaintiff's funds will be concealed or transferred," Birkhead alleges. "If the money is just going to remain in a bank account, then a preliminary injunction will be nothing more than a minor inconvenience to Opri. If Opri is planning some use for or movement of the money, that is a compelling and urgent reason for the requested relief."

Birkhead also wants a full report, so to speak, of any transactions Opri may have made, to date, that involved the money he says was meant for his case, as well as a complete rundown of the funds' whereabouts (which accounts, which banks, etc.).

"Outstanding debts owing to counsel cannot be satisfied from client trust account funds unless the client first gives permission," the motion states.

The L.A.-based and Kentucky-born photographer says that he signed a legal fee agreement ($475 per hour) when Opri took his case, despite the fact that she "induced" him to meet with her "on the promise that she would represent him free of charge because of the publicity she would receive as the result of being his lawyer."

Could either have them imagined…

Meanwhile, Opri (who was also recently given the boot by David Hasselhoff's ex-wife, Pamela Bach, after she lost custody of her two kids) has moved for court-ordered arbitration to help her collect what she claims are Birkhead's myriad unpaid legal bills, totaling about $650,000.

Birkhead fired Opri before DNA proved him to be the father of Smith's daughter, Dannielynn Hope Marshall Birkhead, née Stern, but she worked for him for months beforehand.

Opri filed a response to Birkhead's lawsuit on June 6, alleging that "he was becoming obsessed with her" and that his expectations regarding her time were extreme.

"When Opri took a short weekend trip to Mexico, Birkhead chastised her for not telling him that she was going to Mexico," the filing states, per usmagazine.com. "Opri became disturbed that Birkhead was becoming obsessed with her and that he tracked her regular movements."