THE AMERICAS: Kerkorian contests claim NEWS DIGEST By ANDREW EDGECLIFFE-JOHNSON
Kerkorian contests claim
Kirk Kerkorian, the 84-year-old billionaire behind MGM's casino's and studios, said yesterday he would contest a child support claim in which his ex-wife is asking for Dollars 320,000 per month for their three-year old daughter.
The claim, lodged in the Los Angeles Superior Court by Lisa Bonder Kerkorian, would be the largest in California history and would easily outstrip last year's Dollars 13,000 per month child support claim against Ronald Perelman, the Revlon cosmetics chairman.
The monthly expenses of Kira Kerkorian, Mr Kerkorian's youngest daughter, include Dollars 144,000 for travel, Dollars 14,000 for parties and play dates, Dollars 5,900 for eating out and Dollars 436 for care of her pet rabbit, the court document claims.
Stephen Kolodny, a lawyer for Lisa Kerkorian, said he recognised that the sums might appear high to outsiders, but: "This is how these people live."
Dennis Wasser, the attorney representing the reclusive Mr Kerkorian said the petitioner's declaration was "to a large extent, a fiction." Mr Kerkorian intends to refute the allegations contained in the court document, he said. Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, New York