Chris Rock asks court to determine paternity

updated 9:23 p.m. ET April 19, 2007

STATESBORO, Ga. - Chris Rock has asked a Georgia court to start paternity proceedings to determine if he’s the father of a 13-year-old boy whose mother tried to file a paternity lawsuit against the actor and comedian last month.

Rock “desires to contribute to the support, maintenance, and education” of the boy if there’s evidence to prove he’s the father, according to papers that Rock’s attorney filed Monday in Bulloch County Superior Court.

Kali Bowyer, who lives in Bulloch County, sought last month to file a paternity lawsuit against Rock seeking child support and medical coverage for her son, Jordan. She withdrew the lawsuit after court officials told her it was outside the southeast Georgia county’s jurisdiction because Rock is a New Jersey resident. However, Rock, who has two young children with his wife of 10 years, Malaak, is requesting that the matter be taken up in the Georgia court.

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“She is looking forward to establishing that Mr. Rock is the father of their son and bringing the case to a swift conclusion,” Brett Kimmel, Bowyer’s attorney in New York, said Wednesday.

Kimmel declined to answer questions about what sort of relationship Bowyer claims to have had with Rock, or why she waited 13 years to seek a paternity claim. Bowyer told the Statesboro Herald last week that she and Rock “were friends and we spent time together.”

Rock’s attorney, John Mayoue of Atlanta, and his publicist, Leslie Sloane, did not immediately return telephone calls by The Associated Press seeking comment.

Rock recently directed and starred in the film “I Think I Love My Wife,” and is behind the hit television series “Everybody Hates Chris,” which is based on his childhood.

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