Ex-wife launches lawsuit against Michael Jackson

Pop star Michael Jackson can't seem to catch a break: a new lawsuit has been launched against him just as another one is drawing to a close.

Debbie Rowe, the singer's ex-wife and mother to his elder son Prince and daughter Paris-Michael, has sued Jackson. Roweclaims that Jackson failed to pay her according to their 1999 divorce settlement. Jackson also has a third child, Prince Michael II.

In Rowe's lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on July 3, she alleges that the pop star stopped making payments to her in October 2003.

She is seeking an immediate payment of $195,000 US for legal fees and $50,000 USin living expenses — funds she claims will go toward building a child-custody case against Jackson.

Rowe married the singer in 1996 but they divorced in 1999. The couple agreed that Rowe would receive $1 million US for three years and then $750,000 US a year for six years after that. Jackson also bought her a car and a home in Beverly Hills, Calif., while Rowe agreed to visit her children only once every 45 days.

Rowe relinquished parental rights to her children in 2001 but asked a judge to reinstate them after she learned of child-molestation charges against Jackson in 2003.

Jackson was acquitted of the charges in a trial that endedin June 2005. The child custody suit is ongoing.

This latest lawsuit from Rowe is yet another legal woe for the pop star, who is trying to revive his musical career with an album to be released in fall 2007.

Closing arguments unspooled Wednesday and Thursdayin another suit, brought against Jackson by a former business associate.

F. Marc Schaffel claims that Jackson has not reimbursed him for loans, expenses and work on a charity record and two TV specials. The singer's lawyers, however, claim that it is Schaffel who owes Jackson money.