Lawyer Michael Avenatti could owe his estranged wife and child $1.5 million [View all]

[former9thward]

High-profile attorney Michael Avenatti is facing a looming deadline to pay an estimated $1.5 million in spousal and child support back payments to his estranged wife as part of an increasingly contentious divorce dispute, according to court records.

Estranged wife Lisa Storie took the forceful step this week of serving a judgment debtor’s notice, after Avenatti -- according to her claim -- violated a temporary settlement agreement she reached with him less than a month ago. If Avenatti fails to appear at a hearing in response to a judgment debtor’s notice, he could face severe consequences, including the issuance by a judge of a bench warrant for his arrest.

Last month, a Los Angeles judge ordered Avenatti to pay former law firm partner Jason Frank just over $5 million as part of a 2017 settlement agreement between Avenatti’s former law firm, Eagan Avenatti & Frank, according to court records.

In July, a bankruptcy judge had ordered Avenatti’s former law firm, Eagan Avenatti, to pay $10 million to Frank after the firm and Avenatti failed to make the initial payment on a $4.85 million settlement, which has since grown with interest to more than $5 million, according to a Nov. 20 order signed by a California state judge.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/lawyer-michael-avenatti-owe-wife-child-15-million/story?id=59749312