AceShowbiz - Mel Gibson's lawyer has slammed Oksana Grigorieva's claims the "Braveheart" star was "cruel" towards her during their union and is failing to pay child maintenance for their daughter - branding them "sensational allegations". Grigorieva opened up about their acrimonious split for a British tabloid on Sunday, June 27, insisting the actor wasn't paying towards the upkeep of their seven-month-old child Lucia.

The former couple is embroiled in a battle over visitation rights, with the singer reportedly winning a restraining order in Los Angeles against Gibson last week, prompting the movie star/director's legal team to call for a modification so their client can spend time with his daughter. But Gibson is fuming over Grigorieva's allegations, and his lawyer, Stephen Kolodny, has spoken out to defend his client.

Kolodny tells TMZ.com, "Oksana's deceitful conduct in trying to terminate Mel's access to his daughter continues. Having entered into an agreement that allows for overnight, unrestricted visitation, and would soon result in Mel having 50/50 custody of their daughter - an agreement reached after a two-day mediation with two retired Superior Court judges - Mel was hopeful that their break-up was behind them and Lucia would be the beneficiary of co-operative parenting. Apparently Lucia will be denied that good fortune."

"Making sensational allegations is not the way to resolve this."