Missy Elliott has reached a last-minute settlement with a former collaborator who claimed he was wrongly left out of songwriting credits for tracks they allegedly created together back in the 1990s.
Producer Terry Williams had been pushing to take Elliott to trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, arguing he co-wrote four songs on All the Sistas Around Da World, the 1994 debut album from Elliott’s short-lived R&B group Sista. Though the project failed commercially and was shelved soon after release, it was Elliott’s first official drop and an early link-up with then up-and-coming producer Timbaland before its 2017 rerelease.
Elliott pushed back in court, insisting she hadn’t even met Williams until after the album was out. The settlement reportedly came together during a sidebar with U.S. District Judge Nitza Quiñones Alejandro, right as 38 jurors were about to be brought in.
Neither side has revealed details of the deal, but Elliott’s attorney told Courthouse News that a court order will soon spell out the agreement.
This marks the end of a nearly seven-year legal fight that zigzagged through multiple courts. Williams first sued in 2018, targeting Elliott, Timbaland, several record labels, and even the estate of the late Aaliyah—claiming he co-wrote her track “Heartbroken” from her 1996 classic One in a Million.
Over the years, the case bounced between jurisdictions, with Williams at times representing himself after parting with his lawyer. Judge Quiñones eventually narrowed the Philadelphia case, tossing out claims against Timbaland due to lack of jurisdiction and ruling that the statute of limitations barred Williams’ arguments over One in a Million.
