Nelly just scored a major courtroom victory after a judge dismissed a lawsuit from one of his former St. Lunatics bandmates and called the case baseless.
U.S. Judge Robert W. Lehrburger ruled on Friday (Oct. 10) that the attorneys behind the lawsuit—filed by Ali (Ali Jones), a former member of St. Lunatics—should be sanctioned for bringing forward claims that had no legal standing.
The lawsuit, filed in 2024, accused Nelly of excluding his group from royalties and credits tied to his 2000 breakout album, Country Grammar.
“It should have been patently obvious to Jones’s attorneys that his copyright ownership claim was time-barred,” the judge wrote, according to court documents reviewed by Complex. “After being placed on notice that the ownership claim stood no chance of success, Jones did not withdraw his complaint. Instead, his attorneys doubled down and proceeded.”
The judge added, “Jones’s copyright ownership claim was groundless on its face from the time it was first asserted.”
In the filing, Jones alleged that Nelly had “manipulated” his former crew into believing they would receive compensation. But three of the four plaintiffs—Murphy Lee, Kyjuan, and City Spud—quickly distanced themselves from the case, clarifying that they never authorized the lawsuit. Ali ultimately continued on his own before dropping the case in April.
Even after the dismissal, Nelly’s legal team demanded sanctions, labeling the lawsuit “frivolous” and “ridiculous.”
“Plaintiff’s counsel succeeded in its frivolous campaign aimed at forcing [Nelly] to spend money defending Plaintiff’s ridiculous time-barred claim,” Nelly’s attorney, Ken Freundlich, wrote at the time. “The Court is respectfully requested to retain jurisdiction and set a briefing and hearing schedule for [potential sanctions].”
Judge Lehrburger agreed, stating that Jones’s lead attorney, Precious Felder Gates, bore primary responsibility for wasting both time and resources. He said Gates “essentially manipulated the pleadings” in a revised complaint that deliberately omitted facts proving the case was too old to pursue.
The judge ruled that Gates acted in bad faith by continuing to push the lawsuit despite clear evidence it had no merit.
While Lehrburger didn’t specify an exact amount, he ordered Gates to reimburse Nelly for the legal fees incurred after the revised complaint was submitted.
“This case sends a message to lawyers that there will be consequences for dragging a defendant into an action that is frivolous on its face and refusing to withdraw it,” Freundlich told Billboard. “There’s a lane for zealous advocacy, but when a case is time-barred according to a plaintiff’s own pleadings, it doesn’t belong in the system.”
