There was recently a new article on ajc.com about the lawsuit against NFL receiver Terrell Owens in Fulton County for failure to pay child support. Lawyer: T.O. could face jail for failure to pay child support, by Christian Boone, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 8, 2011. As mentioned in my previous blog on the subject, one possible punishment for the willful failure to pay child support is incarceration - and it looks like the plaintiff's lawyer has petitioned the trial court for just that. According to the article, the original contempt petition for June and July child support payments was withdrawn after the full amounts were paid. However, now Owens appears to have failed to pay support for August or September, which is the subject of the current lawsuit.
The plaintiff's attorney says that Owens has given no reason for his refusal to pay. The article further states that, though he is not currently signed by any NFL team, he is starring in a reality television show and his estimated monthly income is $666,000. If this is true, he should be able to afford the $5,000 child support payments. The case is currently pending, and a judge will decide whether to jail Owens or force him to make all back payments along with attorney's fees.