Madonna facing Mercy family lawsuit?

The family of Madonna's adopted daughter Mercy James are reportedly planning to sue the star for reneging on a visitation deal.

The 'Celebration' singer, who took on the five-year-old from a Malawi orphanage in 2009, is believed to have promised Mercy's biological relatives regular contact following her adoption, but has yet to set up a reunion despite making two subsequent visits to the country with Mercy.

Speaking to The Daily Mail, Emmie Chanika of Malawi civil rights group CILIC confirmed that Mercy's family had contacted her about launching a legal challenge against Madonna.

She said: "Mercy’s family have met me several times over the past year and they have been very upset. They have a strong recollection of being told that they would be able to see Mercy and have regular contact with her - and that when she is an adult she will return to live with them in Malawi."

"I believe they have a case in law because there appears to have been a verbal contract between them and Madonna’s representatives... None of us desires an embarrassing and expensive court case which could humiliate or inconvenience Madonna. The best outcome would be a proper agreement to let Mercy meet her family on a regular basis."

In addition to the lawsuit, Mercy's grandmother Lucy Chekechiwa has publicly pleaded with Madonna to let her see the child she cared for as a baby.

"We live a very simple life with little money and we felt [Mercy] would be better in the orphanage for her first few years," she explained.

"We know Madonna gave a lot of money to the orphanage, and the people there persuaded us to let her have our child. But she cannot love Mercy more than I love her, that is not possible. We are just asking her to be humane."

Referring to one of Madonna and Mercy's recent returns to Malawi, Chekechiwa's son Peter Baneti stated: "We had been visiting Mercy regularly and we never wanted her to leave us and her country behind.

"But we were told she had a chance of a good life with this singing star who would make sure she never lost touch with her African roots. We feel cheated, and my elderly mother is very upset."

Mercy is the second Malawi orphan to be adopted by Madonna after David Banda, who passed into the 52-year-old's care in 2008. The 'Material Girl' star was similarly accused by David's father of "ignoring" the child's family in Africa.