Jesse James and wife Sandra Bullock are locked in a custody battle over his daughter from a previous relationship, Sunny Lee James.
In court papers filed with Los Angeles Superior Court on October 29 and obtained by Access Hollywood, Jesse claimed that ex-wife Janine Lindemulder had violated a court order given October 13 preventing her from allowing Sunny, 5, to have contact with her new husband, Jeremy James Aikman – a convicted felon.
James has had continuous custody of his daughter since March 1, 2009, when Lindemulder was imprisoned on tax evasion charges – she owed over $200,000 to the IRS. On October 13, the court ordered that she would have visitation rights on Sundays pending a further hearing on December 12.
Lindemulder – a former actress and producer in adult films – has an admitted history of drug abuse.
And in a letter to judge Thomas Coffin obtained by ABC News, Sandra herself spoke out for Sunny’s care.
“Janine has claimed many times that my desire to have Sunny, was because I could not have children of my own,” Sandra wrote. “As difficult as that is for me to hear, and write, it couldn’t be farther from the truth. To share the joy of bringing another life into the world with Jesse is something that I desire very much. But we realized that due to the instability in Sunny’s life, bringing another child into the world at [this] time would not be in Sunny’s best interests.”
The star further added that she’s dialed down her working life to be with Sunny and James’ other children, thanks to Lindemulder’s alleged instability.
“I myself have stopped working like I used to in order to be here with Jesse and the kids because we are on constant ‘high alert,’” she wrote. “Never knowing what condition Janine will be in, and even more concerning, the condition Sunny will be in.”
Sandra also recently spoke out about enjoying her role as a stepmother to Sunny.
“The universe put this in our lap,” she told Parade last month. “I seemed to have stepped in right when I needed to be there… If you don’t have kids and animals, you don’t truly know what real life is about.”
Sandra’s upcoming film, “The Blind Side,” also deals with similar themes of taking a child into her character’s home.
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