Mel Gibson settlement: Oksana gets $750,000, not $15 million
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Mel Gibson and Oksana Grigorieva have reached a settlement in their custody case, with details released by the court Wednesday.
Long story short: She gets $750,000 and a house to live in until their daughter Lucia is 18. That’s a far cry from the $15-million settlement she walked away from early last summer, claiming she’d agreed to it under duress.
Gibson spoke briefly in court,thanking the judge for bringing the case to a ‘reasonable conclusion,’ L.A. Now reported. The court had announced Friday that a deal was done.
Grigorieva’s lawyers had sought $20 million from ex-boyfriend and baby daddy Gibson. In early May, shortly before the mediation that brought them to the $15-million offer, she sent him an email referencing her secret recordings of his angry, profane rants from Feb. 18, 2010.
The first of those tapes -- they were chopped into six parts for release -- was leaked to the public July 9 of last year. The sixth tape finally dropped 11 days later, by which time Gibson’s attorney was presenting authorities with evidence of alleged extortion; he was already being investigated on suspicion of domestic violence. In the sixth tape, Grigorieva referenced their failed settlement agreement, which reportedly would have prevented her from seeking more money from him in the future.
Gibson pleaded no contest this March to a misdemeanor domestic abuse charge, though he has maintained his innocence. The charge resulted from a Jan. 6, 2010, dispute between the two in which she alleged he hit her and broke a veneer on her teeth. Gibson later admitted striking her but said he was trying to get her to stop shaking Lucia as the couple argued.
An extortion investigation resulted in no charges being filed against Grigorieva.
In addition to getting the cash, Grigorieva can live in the Sherman Oaks home Gibson bought for her and his daughter until Lucia turns 18, according to L.A. Now. At that time, the house will be sold and the money placed in a trust for Lucia. The $750,000 will be paid in three installments.
The former couple will have joint legal custody, and both Gibson and Grigorieva are barred from writing books about their relationship.
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-- Christie D’Zurilla
Twitter.com/dzurillaville