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Jimmy Butler’s Lawyer Cut Ties With NBA Star Weeks Before Heat ‘Indefinite’ Suspension
Jimmy Butler’s Florida lawyer cut ties with him weeks before the NBA star was suspended by the Miami Heat, In Touch can exclusively report.
As In Touch previously reported, Jimmy, 35, and his ex-girlfriend Kaitlin Nowak have been going back and forth in court for over a year.
Kaitlin filed the paternity lawsuit against Jimmy in October 2023. A final judgment of paternity was entered in February 2024.
The NBA star said he was established as the legal and biological father of three children: a daughter, R.M.B., born in 2019, a son named B.M.B., born in 2022, and a second son named K.B., born in 2023.
Daily Mail was the first to report on the legal battle after Jimmy filed a bombshell motion in the case.
At the time, Jimmy was represented by a lawyer named Joel Feldman.
Joel filed a motion, on behalf of the NBA star, in which Jimmy asked the court to help him resolve an issue with his ex.
Jimmy said he had agreed to temporarily pay his ex $10,000 to be used for a nanny.
He said he agreed to paying the expense due to his child being a newborn.
Jimmy said the child is now over one year old. The NBA star argued that he should not have to pay for his ex’s nanny on top of the $55,000 a month he pays her in child support.
Jimmy said he pays Kaitlin a “huge child support payment each month, which is more than sufficient to cover the expenses of a nanny, if the mother wants one.”
“Mother is unemployed and refuses to seek employment. With one child in preschool and Father exercising equal timesharing with the older children, there is no legitimate reason for Mother to insist both on a nanny and that Father pay for that nanny,” Jimmy’s lawyer argued.
“Given the current circumstances, that the two older children will be starting school soon, that the Mother does not work, that the Father has the two older children 50 percent of the time, and the ample child support the Mother receives, there is no justification to require to the Father to continue to pay for the Mother’s nanny costs,” the motion read.
On top of that, Jimmy explained he exercises 50 percent timesharing with the two older children.
A couple of days later, Joel filed a motion to withdraw as Jimmy’s lawyer.
“There exist irreconcilable differences between [Jimmy] and his undersigned counsel that the undersigned is no longer in a position to represent [Jimmy’s] interests in this action,” the lawyer said.
The lawyer asked that all future pleadings in the case be sent directly to Jimmy and provided the NBA star’s email address.
A couple of days later, a lawyer named Brian Karpf told the court he would be representing Jimmy in the case moving forward.
As In Touch first reported, Jimmy dropped his motion over the nanny on January 10. The case is still ongoing. On top of the court drama, Jimmy was suspended by the Miami Heat without pay for an “indefinite period to last no fewer than five games,” according to The Athletic.
The team released a statement reading, “The Miami HEAT are suspending Jimmy Butler without pay effective immediately for an indefinite period to last no fewer than five games. The suspension is due to a continued pattern of disregard of team rules, engaging in conduct detrimental to the team and intentionally withholding services. This includes walking out of practice earlier today.”
Last month, Jimmy told the team president that he wanted to be traded.
