Michael Jackson’s Son Bigi Says Estate Shouldn’t Pay Grandmother’s Legal Bills in Dispute over $600 Million Catalog Deal

Michael Jackson’s son Bigi is suing his grandmother in court.

In court filings obtained by PEOPLE, Bigi (formerly known as Blanket), 22, has asked that Katherine Jackson not be allowed to use the legendary pop singer’s estate to fund her ongoing legal battle against executors in a dispute over an undisclosed “recent transaction .”

He argued that because the estate would “not benefit”, it should not pay for Katherine’s pending appeal against co-executors John Brance and John McClain, who sought approval to proceed with the unnamed transaction last year.

Although the deal was not specifically named in the filing, it appears to be an estimated $600 million catalog sale of Jackson’s estate to Sony.

Jackson’s estate could not be reached for comment. Representatives for Bigi and Katherine have not yet responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Katherine Jackson in Las Vegas in June 2013.

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Both Bigi and Katherine were initially aligned in fighting the proposed estate transaction. However, after a judge ruled last year that the arrangement would go ahead, Blanket and his siblings accepted the court’s decision, while Katherine filed an appeal, which is currently underway.

In December, Katherine requested that the estate pay her legal bills over her objections. But on Monday, Bigi claimed it would be “unfair” to force him and the other Jackson siblings to do so.

“Obviously, reversal on appeal would be extremely difficult,” lawyers for Bigi wrote. “Given these prospects, Bigi has decided not to waste his resources participating in the appeal. Regardless, Katherine has decided to appeal this court decision. This decision is not in favor of the heirs.”

The amount Katherine is seeking remains undisclosed.

Bigi is not completely against grandma’s request. He “does not object to reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs” for her initial opposition to the deal because she presented “substantial evidence.” But he believes “the total amount for the trial could be high” and questioned whether “four lawyers charging $840 to $1,400 an hour are necessary.”

It requires the court to “determine a fair and just amount.”

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Katherine and Biggie Jackson in Los Angeles in January 2012.

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“Katherine’s petition has the practical effect of requiring Bigi and his siblings to pay for her appeal,” the filing said. “It would be unfair to make these users bear this burden when they have expressly decided that an appeal would not be in their best interests.”

Bigi — born Prince Michael Jackson II — was born via surrogate in 2002. In 2015, he changed his name to Bigi.

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Source: HIS Education