Nelly has had a lot on his plate for the past few months. In August, he and his fiancée Ashanti welcomed their first child together. Shortly before that, he was arrested at a casino in Missouri. He was accused of ecstasy possession, which his attorney vehemently denied on his behalf. Now, according to new court documents obtained by AllHipHop, he's been hit with a $50 million lawsuit.
The lawsuit in question was reportedly filed by his former St. Lunatics groupmates Ali, Murphy Lee, Kyjuan, and City Spud earlier this week. They accuse Nelly of copyright infringement and unjust enrichment. Allegedly, they didn't receive proper credit or compensation for their contributions to Country Grammar, Nelly's 2000 debut studio album.
Four Former St. Lunatics Members Accuse Nelly Of Copyright Infringement And Unjust Enrichment
They accuse Nelly of falsely and fraudulently claiming to be the sole author of various tracks he allegedly created with St. Lunatics. These include "Batter Up," "Thicky Thick Girl," and "Steal The Show." In their lawsuit, they also allege that Nelly promised to give them credit and compensation for their contributions. According to them, they figured out that he was allegedly not telling the truth several years later in 2020.
“Despite repeated assurances by defendant Haynes that plaintiffs would receive their writing credit and publishing income for creating the Original Compositions, plaintiffs, sometime in 2020, eventually discovered that defendant Haynes had been lying to them the entire time,” the lawsuit reads. “Plaintiffs eventually discovered that not only did they not receive any credit as authors and/or creators of the Original Compositions, but that defendant Haynes, and others, took full credit for creating the Original Compositions contained in the Infringing Album.” What do you think of Nelly getting sued by his former St. Lunatics groupmates? Are you surprised by this or not? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
