SCRUBS - SCRUBS STAR IN CHILD PAYMENT ROW

SCRUBS star JOHN C. MCGINLEY has landed in a legal battle with his ex-wife, after withholding child support payments because of the writer's strike. MCGinley is obliged to pay Lauren Lambert - who he divorced in 2001 - $9,000 (GBP4,500) a month to look after their 10-year-old son Max, who suffers from Down's Syndrome. The actor, who plays Dr. Cox in Scrubs, stopped the payments earlier this month (Jan08), claiming it isn't fair for him to have to make full payments while the show isn't in production. Lambert is furious, claiming MCGinley can afford a "big house in Malibu" - and is ready to ask a judge to hold him in contempt, reports TMZ.com. But MCGinley's lawyer Lynn Soodik insists, "He's following the court order which allows him to reduce support if the show isn't being shot." The actor married second wife Nichole Kessler in April last year (07).