Paternity suit seeking millions from Keanu Reeves should be thrown out: lawyer – Yahoo! Canada News
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Thu Jan 7, 2:37 PM
By Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
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BARRIE, Ont. – A paternity suit seeking millions from Keanu Reeves should be thrown out because a DNA test has shown the actor is not the father of an Ontario woman’s adult children, his lawyer told court Thursday, though the woman questioned the validity of the test.
Karen Sala maintains she had a sexual relationship with Reeves before, during and after her marriage, that they lived together and that he was present at the birth of some of her kids.
Reeves vehemently denies ever having met the woman.
The woman, who lives some 100 kilometres north of Toronto in Barrie, is seeking $3 million a month in spousal support, retroactive to November 2006. She also wants $150,000 a month in child support, going back to June 1988 for her kids, now aged 25, 23, 22 and 21.
Court heard Thursday that Sala raises several issues with the DNA results, including the possibility of tampering or that Reeves used hypnosis to affect the results.
“I do know for a fact that he is the biological father,” Sala, who is representing herself, told the judge, adding that she has proof but cannot show it to the court.
She said she has known Reeves since she was four or five, as Reeves grew up down the street from her. She didn’t connect him to the actor until much later, because she always knew him by several different names, she said.
“I didn’t know he was Keanu Reeves,” Sala said. “To me he was Marty Spencer.”
Lawyer Lorne Wolfson, representing Reeves, suggested Sala’s ex-husband is in fact the father of the children, as is stated in documents in their divorce proceedings.
Sala has declined to bring a motion to have her ex-husband’s DNA tested and has refused to produce her children’s birth certificates, Wolfson said.
In her affidavit Sala suggested Reeves uses hypnosis and disguises himself as different people, including her ex-husband, Wolfson said.
“Her evidence is, at best, incredible,” Wolfson said. “There is clearly no triable issue.”
Reeves, 45, grew up in Toronto before leaving for Hollywood in 1986. He starred in the “Matrix” films as well as “Speed” and “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.”
In regards to the claim for spousal support, the Family Law Act requires three years of cohabitation, and Reeves says he “hasn’t cohabited with the applicant for a minute, let alone three years,” Wolfson said.
There is no basis to her spousal or child support claims, and as such there is no reason the matter should go forward, Wolfson said. He brought a motion Thursday seeking summary judgment, meaning it would not go to trial, as well as costs.
Meanwhile, Sala brought a motion seeking an order for a second DNA test and the release of Reeves’ DNA profile, so it can be compared to a test performed by another company.
There is no reason for a second test and in the wrong hands Reeves’ DNA profile would be a gross invasion of privacy, Wolfson said.
“It’s much more invasive than… photographs of him on the beach,” he said.
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