Horace Grant Child Support Battle Revived

(CN) - Former NBA star Horace Grant must go back to court to continue his child-support battle with the mother of one of his children, the Utah Court of Appeals ruled.

Grant played pro basketball from 1987 to 2010. He won three NBA titles with the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in the early 1990s. He won a fourth ring with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2001.

Ann Gore gave birth to Grant's daughter in 1996. They entered into a child support agreement when Grant was earning a $14.3 million salary.

Grant retired in 2004 and lived off his previous earnings until 2010, when he began making promotional appearances for the NBA.

Grant bought a home for Gore and their daughter in Utah and was current with his child support through 2008.

However, he began reducing his payments in 2009 and filed a petition to have his monthly obligation lowered, according to court documents.

The district court agreed, finding that Grant has experienced a substantial permanent income reduction due to the end of his career as a basketball player.

Gore appealed, and the Utah Court of Appeals remanded the case for reconsideration.

"We conclude that the district court erred in granting Father's modification request without fully considering the extraordinary circumstances of this case," Judge Stephen Roth wrote on behalf of the court's three-judge panel.

Remanding the case for reconsideration, Roth stated that the district court focused "narrowly" on Grant's income reduction and whether a reduction in child support would have an adverse effect on his daughter.

"Although the court found that Father had lost a substantial amount of his wealth, the court also found that Father had $375,000 in savings, income from a $205,000 installment sale contract and $1 million judgment, and $68,000 in other assets," Roth wrote.

Since the daughter's birth, Grant has gotten married and has four other minor children.

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