Three of Nelly's former colleagues from St. Lunatics have officially withdrawn from a lawsuit seeking royalties from the rapper's album. Country Grammar – two months after they said they didn't want to sue him in the first place.
The lawsuit, which claims that the Lunatics contributed to the album but that Nelly cut them from credits, was first filed in September by Ali (Ali Jones), Murphy Lee (Tohri Harper), Kyjuan (Robert Kyjuan) and City Spud (Lavell). Webb). But Lee, Kyjuan and Spud quickly fought back – saying they never consented to the lawsuit and asking to be removed from the case immediately.
In an update filed Friday, the lawyers behind the lawsuit finally did — meaning the case is now a dispute between Ali and Nelly alone. In a statement to Billboard, Ali's attorney who filed the case, Precious Felder Gatessaid her client “will continue to pursue the unpaid royalties to which he is entitled.”
“Our client, Mr. Jones, is deeply committed to protecting his creative contributions and ensuring he is legally compensated for his work,” said Felder Gates. “While others may have chosen to retire, his commitment to his artistic legacy and rights as a creator remains unwavering.”
A group of high school friends from St. Louis, the St. Lunatics rose to prominence in the late 1990s with 'Gimme What U Got' and their debut album Free City — released a year later Country Grammar — was a success in its own right, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
In their Sept. 18 complaint, the bandmates alleged that Nelly had repeatedly “manipulated” them into falsely thinking they would be paid for their work on the 2000 album, which spent five weeks atop the Billboard 200. But they said that he never delivered on promises.
“Each time plaintiffs confronted defendant Haynes [he] would assure them as 'friends' that he would never stop them from receiving the financial success they were entitled to,” the lawsuit states. “Unfortunately, the plaintiffs, reasonably believing that their friend and former band member would never take credit for writing the original compositions, did not initially pursue any legal remedies.”
But in early October, Lee, Kyjuan and Spud joined Nelly on stage for his performance at the American Music Awards – a seemingly odd move for bandmates engaged in active litigation. Days later, it made more sense: They never wanted to sue Nelly.
As Bulletin board reported at the time, a lawyer representing the trio had privately sent a letter just a week after the case was filed, warning the lawyers behind the case that Lee, Kyjuan and Spud “informed me that they did not authorize you to include as plaintiffs'.
“They hereby demand that you remove their names immediately,” N. Scott Rosenblum he wrote in the letter of September 24, which he received Bulletin board. “If they don't it will force them to explore any and all legal means available to them.”
In Friday's updated lawsuit, Ali's lawyers did just that, removing Lee, Kyjuan and Spud from the list of plaintiffs. But they also included new substantive allegations as part of their amended complaint.
In a major change, they added HarbourView Equity Partners to the list of defendants, citing Nelly's $50 million catalog sale to the firm last summer. Calling it a “substantial transaction,” Ali's lawyers suggested the big deal helped spark the lawsuit.
“At this juncture, it has become apparent that, despite defendant Haynes' repeated assurances … defendant would not follow through on his longstanding promises to compensate plaintiff,” Ali's attorneys wrote.
A representative for HarbourView did not immediately return a request for comment Monday.
