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Judge says Jordan not obligated to pay former lover
Chicago, June 13: Michael Jordan does not have to pay a woman who wanted $5 million to keep their relationship quiet, a judge has ruled.
Chicago, June 13: Michael Jordan does not have to pay a woman who wanted $5 million to keep their relationship quiet, a judge has ruled.
Circuit Judge Richard A Siebel agreed with Jordan's attorney, Frederick J Sperling, that such an agreement with Karla Knafel would be unenforceable legally.
Sperling argued that paying the sum to Knafel in exchange for her silence about an affair she had with Jordan would amount to paying extortion money.
"Because the hush money provision infects the entire agreement, the court finds that the entire agreement between Jordan and Knafel is void and unenforceable as a matter of law," Siebel said.
Knafel's attorney, Michael Hannafan, said his client and Jordan had a sexual relationship from 1989-91 in Indianapolis, Chicago and Phoenix. Knafel found she was pregnant shortly after being with Jordan in November 1990, Hannafan said.
At that time, she believed the child was Jordan's, he said.
Jordan, a former star with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards, then offered her $5 million to buy her silence about their relationship and about the child she thought was his, Hannafan said.
Bureau Report
Sperling argued that paying the sum to Knafel in exchange for her silence about an affair she had with Jordan would amount to paying extortion money.
"Because the hush money provision infects the entire agreement, the court finds that the entire agreement between Jordan and Knafel is void and unenforceable as a matter of law," Siebel said.
Knafel's attorney, Michael Hannafan, said his client and Jordan had a sexual relationship from 1989-91 in Indianapolis, Chicago and Phoenix. Knafel found she was pregnant shortly after being with Jordan in November 1990, Hannafan said.
At that time, she believed the child was Jordan's, he said.
Jordan, a former star with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards, then offered her $5 million to buy her silence about their relationship and about the child she thought was his, Hannafan said.
Bureau Report