Former NBA star Lamar Odom is getting zero sympathy froma judge this week as reports surfaced that he was blasted for not paying child support, leaving his two kids and baby mama Liza Morales on the verge of being evicted.
“If Mr. Odom is in good enough shape to participate in a boxing match, he’s certainly in good enough shape to abide by his obligations to support his children as set forth in the settlement agreement,” Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Matthew Cooper said during a video hearing.
Odom, who is coming off participating in a celebrity boxing match that his ex claims netted him a $40,000 paycheck, was sued last month by Morales who claims the athlete hasn’t honored a 2015 settlement agreement over their two children since June 2020.
Morales’ lawyer, Abraham Borenstein, told the judge that Odom hasn’t been paying child support and he owes her over $91,000 through July. Borenstein also said Odom’s fallen behind on nearly $83,000 rent for a West Street apartment in Lower Manhattan, where Morales lives with their kids.
“I’m disappointed that payments ceased,” Cooper said.
On top of that, he owes nearly $24,000 for college application fees and room and board for their children, according to the lawyer. Morales’ suit said Odom has more than enough means to pay child support.
“There is an enormous amount of money involved and Ms. Morales is being unfairly prejudiced by the failure [of Odom] to comply with the agreement,” said Borenstein.
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“He is definitely making income,” Morales said by video. “He just got a check for that boxing match. He is doing a lot of things regarding his brand. He has a CBD company that he works with.”
Morales added that Odom also got paid for appearing an a documentary about psychedelics.
“I will just offer the observation that if Mr. Odom wants to have a brand that means anything, it should be one where the person behind the brand pays to support his children and doesn’t leave his children in danger of being evicted,” Cooper said.
Since Odom didn’t appear in court to defend against the claims, the judge granted a default judgement against him for all the money Morales says she’s owed including for attorney fees.
“If Mr. Odom received money from his celebrity match, I’m sure you’d want to get a judgement so you can take action as soon as possible,” Cooper said.
