Judge Rejects Claims by Prince Divorce Lawyer for $600,000

CHASKA -- A Minnesota judge says a lawyer who represented Prince in divorce proceedings a decade ago can't collect on nearly $600,000 he says the late rock superstar still owed him before his death.

Carver County District Judge Kevin Eide on Tuesday ruled that West Palm Beach,Florida, attorney Patrick Cousins missed a deadline for pursuing his claim against the Prince estate. Cousins represented Prince in his 2007 divorce from Manuela Testolini.

The judge ruled that Cousins waited too long to contest a decision by the trust company administering the estate to reject his claims. He also noted that Minnesota has a six-year statute of limitations on such claims.

The judge dismissed Cousins' claims with prejudice, meaning he can't file them again.