Rapper T.I. has defended his failure to obey a court ruling and cover his ex-girlfriend’s legal costs in their ongoing custody battle, blaming the non-payment on a “clerical error”. The Whatever You Like hitmaker, real name Clifford Harris Jr., was hauled back to Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday (06Jan09), after lawyers for his former lover and mother of two of his children, LaShon Dixon, claimed he had yet to hand over the $8,000 (GBP5,400) he owed in legal fees, as ruled by a judge in September (08). At that hearing, T.I. was also ordered to pay more than $3,000 (GBP2,000) a month to Dixon, on top of their two sons’ private school tuition, uninsured medical bills and various expenses racked up by the children’s extracurricular activities. The deadline for the outstanding amount was 19 November (08). T.I. appeared before Judge Tipton Lane on Tuesday and referred to the non-payment as an oversight, before handing over a cheque for the cash. But Dixon is still unhappy with the amount of child support she receives for their sons, aged seven and eight. She is reportedly seeking around $10,000 (GBP6,900) a month, because she claims the $6,000 (GBP4,140) they currently get is not enough. Dixon further asserted her two kids are missing out on the lavish lifestyle the rapper and his fiancee, Tameka ‘Tiny’ Cottle, enjoy with their two sons, and she wants the cash difference to be reflected in her monthly payments. She told the judge she was asking for more money “so it’s not so uneven and noticeable between the children. Not so noticeable that it’s different”. However, T.I.’s lawyer John Mayoue insisted his client was always prepared to give all his children the best: “Basketball camp, acting lessons, anything.” The star, who has also fathered another child with a former girlfriend, added, “My children are still the number one thing. They’re the most important thing in my life and they are what I work for.” He went on to question the way Dixon spent her monthly allowance, saying: “I think the children’s different standard of living with her is due to her lifestyle that she has provided for herself.” Judge Lane has yet to make a decision regarding Dixon’s latest request.
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