Attorneys for R. Kelly are trying to overturn a default judgment in favor of a woman who accused Kelly of sexually abusing her when she was a minor.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, a Chicago judge ruled against Kelly in a lawsuit brought by Heather Williams, one of the four alleged victims named in Kelly’s criminal case, who sued Kelly in February, the same month that he was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

Williams claims Kelly began molesting her at age 16 and that she and Kelly had sexual intercourse once a month for a year when she was a minor. A judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff when Kelly’s legal team did not respond in any way to the lawsuit, and Kelly made no arrangements to appear in court. According to the terms of the judgment, a subsequent hearing would determine a sum Kelly would be ordered to pay Williams if he continued to ignore the suit.

But now Kelly’s civil attorney Brian Nix claims he never saw the lawsuit, which he told TMZ was served to Kelly while he was incarcerated for failure to pay child support. Nix claims the judgment should be dismissed because his client did not comprehend the legal papers enough to handle them properly, and that Nix is now prepared to fight the lawsuit in court.

“[Being overwhelmed] coupled with Mr. Kelly not being cognizant of what the motion fully meant led to him missing the hearing,” Nix told TMZ. “I had no idea he had been served.”

At this time it does not appear that a judge has made a ruling on Nix’s request to dismiss the judgment.

[Feature image: AP Photo/Matt Marton]