With law suits here and there, Nelly has encountered his share of lawsuit.
Decades after Nelly’s hit album Country Grammar topped the charts, he is facing a lawsuit from his former St. Lunatics group members. They claim that Nelly excluded them from receiving proper credit and royalties for their contributions to the album.
In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court, St. Lunatics members, including Ali, Murphy Lee, Kyjuan, and City Spud, allege that Nelly repeatedly assured them they would be compensated for their work on the 2000 album, which held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 for five weeks. However, they now claim they were misled into believing this and never received their rightful payments.
The lawsuit highlights that the group members were involved in more tracks than they were credited for, including songs like “Steal the Show” and the album’s title track “Country Grammar,” which reached No. 7 on the singles chart.
They allege that Nelly acknowledged their role in writing these songs but failed to follow through on promises to ensure proper credit.
In 2020, the group discovered that Nelly had allegedly deceived them for years, leading them to hire legal representation. The group claims that their attempts to address the issue with Universal Music Publishing Group were dismissed, prompting the current legal action.
The case may face challenges due to the statute of limitations on copyright ownership disputes, which is typically three years. However, the lawsuit is framed as an infringement case, arguing that Nelly has been using the group’s work without authorization.
Nelly’s attorneys are expected to argue that the case was filed too late.
Despite this, the plaintiffs’ lawyer remains confident, stating they are not concerned about the statute of limitations and are hopeful for a resolution.
