Mel B's lawyers have filed legal motions in a bid to strike her former nanny Lorraine Gilles' defamation lawsuit.
The former Spice Girls star filed for divorce from husband Stephen Belafonte in March (17) and in her legal papers, she claimed he impregnated the childminder and urged her to get an abortion after Mel scoffed at an idea to let her and her child live with them.
Gilles, who was fired in January 2015, filed a defamation lawsuit against the singer over the allegations, as well as claims she and Stephen were stealing money from Mel and had control over sex tapes Mel and Stephen made during their marriage.
Mel's lawyers are now attempting to get the lawsuit thrown out of court, by filing five separate motions "to strike plaintiff's entire action", according to documents obtained by the Dailymail.co.uk. They have reportedly submitted 403 pages of legal papers to urge Judge Dalila Lyons of Los Angeles Superior Court to rule the suit "null and void under California law" and rule in her favour without hearing Gilles' case.
A source told Britain's Daily Mirror over the weekend (29-30Jul17) that the 42-year-old has spent thousands of dollars fighting the lawsuit.
"She knows a full-blown trial could cost her vast amounts in legal fees alone. If she loses it would be unthinkable for her financial status," the source said. "Mel has told the judge her accusations about Lorraine were no smear campaign as she did not act in "reckless disregard"'.
A person usually can't be sued for what they allege in court papers, but there is an exception in California family law cases which allows someone to sue if they are a third party not involved in the litigation, like Gilles with Mel's divorce case.
The singer was granted a five-year restraining order in May against Gilles after reportedly presenting evidence that the nanny allegedly harassed her and was verbally abusive.
However, Gilles has claimed she was not served with the legal papers as she was out of town the day Mel claims she handed her the documents.
