US actor Robert Blake, acquitted on charges he murdered his wife, returned to court on Monday to face a lawsuit by her children.
Bonny Lee Bakley's four children sued the former star of the US television series Baretta, for damages before his criminal trial ended.
Attorney Eric Dubin, representing Bakley's children, did not reveal the amount they were seeking.
Blake, 71, was accused of having murdered Bakley on May 4 2001, six months after they had married. The jury acquitted him on a charge of murder and a charge of soliciting commission of a murder, but did not decide on a second charge of solicitation.
Bakley, 44, died from a gunshot wound while waiting for her husband in their car as he went back into the restaurant to pick up his pistol that he had left behind.