Fulton County Judge Grants Rapper Ludacris Full Custody Of 13 Month Old Daughter After Year Long Court Battle

The 14 month legal battle between rapper Ludacris – whose legal name is Chris Bridges – and Tamika Fuller over custody of their 13 month old daughter, Cai Bella Bridges has reached a dramatic conclusion. The lawsuit started in December of 2013, with Ludacris filing a Petition in Fulton County Superior Court seeking a legal legitimation of his daughter. Fuller filed a counterclaim requesting that she be awarded a sizeable sum of monthly child support from the rapper.

The final trial took place in January of 2015. During the proceedings Ludacris cited Fuller’s poor parenting over her other child from a previous relationship as a primary reason for him to be awarded primary custody of Cai Bella. Fuller countered by revealing that Ludacris had requested that she have an abortion and bribed her in an effort to get her to terminate the pregnancy. Fuller also accused Ludacris of manufacturing his current marriage in an effort to appear more stable. The Court also heard from a Court appointed Guardian ad Litem, who had conducted an independent investigation of both parents. Following all of the testimony, Judge Doris Downs awarded Ludacris primary physical custody and granted the parties joint legal custody.

What remains unclear is whether Ludacris will still be ordered to pay child support to Fuller. Under a previous temporary ruling in the case, the rapper was ordered to pay $7,000/month to Fuller. However, based on the Court’s final custody Order granting him primary custody, his attorneys may be seeking to eliminate his child support obligation all together, or possibly even order Fuller to pay child support to him.

If they do pursue this option, there is no guarantee that they will prevail. It is possible in Georgia for a custodial parent to still be required to pay child support to the non-custodial parent. Georgia law allows the Superior Court Judge to exercise his or her own discretion to determine whether the best interests of the child would be served by money being paid to the noncustodial parent to allow for proper visitation. Such an anomaly generally only occurs when the incomes between the parties are so disparate that it would be unfair to the child to have such radically different living environments between the two households. This legal loophole in Georgia is likely Tamika Fuller’s only chance at this point at getting any money out of the wealthy rapper.