MOBILE | A federal judge has entered a $40,000 judgment against an Atlanta woman trying to collect child-support payments from former University of Alabama and NBA player Jason Caffey because the money was paid to her after Caffey’s bankruptcy filing required a freeze on debt collection.

Karen Russell has been battling the ex-Chicago Bulls player from Mobile for years over payments for their 15-year-old son, born from a relationship when the two attended the University of Alabama.

Caffey claims he cannot make court-ordered payments to seven women who have had at least eight of his children. Caffey’s attorney was in court Wednesday and unavailable for comment.

In the ruling Tuesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Margaret A. Mahoney of Mobile gave Russell additional time to appeal the ruling, even though the normal 10-day window for an appeal has closed.

Mahoney earlier had ordered Russell to repay the money after determining that she violated a freeze on debt collection mandated when Caffey sought protection in court with his bankruptcy filing.

A Tuscaloosa judge issued an arrest warrant for Caffey in August for not paying child support. The payment Russell accepted in October was part of a settlement Caffey’s lawyer negotiated in order to get his client out of jail, the Mobile newspaper said.