Jesse Williams argued in new court documents that he doesn’t need to notify his ex-wife Aryn Drake-Lee about any medical care their two children may obtain.
The former Grey’s Anatomy star, 43, was awarded full custody of their children’s healthcare in March, though Drake-Lee, 43, has since challenged that California court ruling as a “serious infringement on her parental rights.”
Under the ruling, Williams is not obligated to notify Drake-Lee about their children’s upcoming medical visits, though he is required to inform his ex-wife once treatments, such as orthodontic visits, have taken place.
Us Weekly confirmed earlier this month that Williams accused Drake-Lee of violating the court’s restrictions by “threatening” their 11-year-old daughter Sadie’s orthodontist. The actor claims his ex promised to file a lawsuit if the doctor “touches the children.”
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Us has obtained new court documents filed on Friday, May 23, in which Drake-Lee requests “the immediate disqualification” of Williams’ attorneys on the grounds of “egregious misconduct by counsel that amounts to fraud upon the court, the systemic use of hearsay in place of any admissible or substantiated evidence, and repeated, escalating violations of [Drake-Lee’s] constitutional rights to due process throughout these proceedings.”
Drake-Lee maintained that she was not given the proper chance to respond to Williams’ request for medical custody in court, thus denying her “a meaningful opportunity to be heard and to assert her parental and legal rights.”
Her attorneys are additionally seeking to overturn the court’s April ruling because they say Drake-Lee was not given “adequate notice or time” to address the request.
Williams responded to Drake-Lee’s latest court filings by reasserting that he was given “sole right to obtain orthodontic care for Sadie without notification to Aryn,” but that he would “provide notification” to his ex-wife after any orthodontic or medical care was completed.
“Aryn is seeking an order to disqualify Jesse’s counsel and vacate Court orders apparently based upon what she claims is hearsay evidence. There is no emergency, no irreparable harm, and no immediate danger to justify Aryn’s requests on an ex parte [one party] basis,” his legal team wrote in new court documents, also obtained by Us.
Williams’ lawyers additionally argued: “Aryn is apparently claiming among other things that the Court’s orders were based upon ‘hearsay’ and should therefore be vacated. It is unclear what hearsay evidence, if any, Aryn is referring to. Notwithstanding, there is no irreparable harm, immediate danger, or any other statutory basis to substantiate Aryn’s emergency requests. Aryn does not present any credible evidence to show that the children will suffer irreparable harm and immediate danger if Aryn’s ex parte [single party] requests are not granted.”
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The former couple’s next custody hearing was originally set for May 29, but Williams’ lawyer has requested it be delayed until July 10 due to scheduling issues.
Williams and Drake-Lee were married from 2012 to 2017. After their split, the pair engaged in a lengthy divorce and custody battle that was finalized in October 2020.
The actor initially requested to alter their child custody agreement in September 2024 in favor of equal joint physical custody and more frequent visitation periods.
