ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Rock star Daryl Hall, who acknowledges he is the father of a 4-year-old child born to a Minnesota woman, does not have to pay more than the maximum child support called for under state guidelines, an appellate court says.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals Tuesday upheld St. Louis County District Judge John Oswald's ruling that Hall's wealth does not require him to pay more than the amount suggested by state guidelines.
The child, Darren, was born to Andrea Zabloski of Duluth after she and Hall met in 1983 when Hall was in town for a concert, court documents show. Zabloski said last year that the two have not spoken since.
In the suit, Hall acknowledged paternity and offered to pay Zabloski $1,000 a month. Zabloski, however, sought 10 times that amount, proposing a budget that included the purchase of a $9,000 piano for the child.
Hall, 40, a member of the Hall & Oates rock group, has annual after-tax income of about $1.4 million, or $116,000 a month, according to court documents. Hall lives on 160 acres in Millbrook, N.Y.
The star said he lives frugally and argued in the appeal that he wants his son to grow up similarly, without expensive music lessons and tutoring.
Zabloski, 24, argued that it is not right for Hall to live on a large estate while she is bring up his child and another child in a one-bedroom apartment. Zabloski was on welfare until Hall's support payments began in 1986.
In his decision, Oswald said Darren is a normal child and does not have special needs that might be expensive. He also said it is important to distinguish between the amount of money a parent is legally required to provide and whether he decides to provide additional support.
'The court's duty must be to provide for the child's reasonable needs,' not to force Hall to 'make his son a wealthy child,' the judge said.
The appeals court said Oswald properly considered the guidelines in reaching his decision.
The guidelines are a set of calculations used to determine child support based on the needs of normal children and the incomes of their parents. Judges may deviate from the guidelines in setting child support, but must provide reasons for doing so.
