An Illinois judge has set a 2019 trial date for the 'American Idol' alumni to settle her dispute with David Otunga over their nine-year-old son's custody.
- Dec 8, 2018
AceShowbiz - Jennifer Hudson will face her ex-fiance David Otunga in court as their child custody battle is heading to trial.
Court documents obtained by The Blast show that an Illinois judge has set a trial date of March 11, 2019 for the "American Idol" alumni and the wrestler to settle their differences over custody of their nine-year-old son David Daniel Otunga Jr. The trial is expected to last five days.
The 37-year-old singer and actress announced her separation from him last November (2017) after 10 years together, and accused her ex of "aggressive, threatening and harassing behaviour" and filed for an emergency protection order accusing David, 38, of pushing her while holding their child. She eventually dropped her petition for the order, and he denies the allegation.
The dispute over their son has continued to be a bitter one, as each has fired off legal claim and counter-claim, with Jennifer claiming she feared he may kidnap their son, while he accused the "Winnie Mandela" star of defaming him.
Frosty relations between the pair briefly thawed shortly after their split as Jennifer agreed to make David their kid's primary caregiver as part of a temporary custody deal while she juggled parenting with her career commitments, including serving as a judge on both the U.K. and U.S. versions of "The Voice" talent show.
However, the warring couple have since been fighting each other over which bus stop David, Jr. uses to get to school and his dad has even attempted to subpoena her sister Julia to sit for a deposition. David has also accused the "Dreamgirls" star of hypocrisy for demanding he be barred from speaking to the media about their custody battle, while still releasing her own statements on the matter.
The case will proceed to trial if they are unable to agree a settlement before March.
