Nelly copyright infringement lawsuit dismissed over ‘Country Grammar’
Nelly was sued for copyright infringement in September 2024 over his debut album, Country Grammar. Now, the lawsuit, which was seeking at least $50 million, has been voluntarily dismissed.
St Lunatics member Ali Jones decided to drop the suit after previously claiming they never received proper credit or royalties. Ali was the only remaining member of the St. Louis group involved in the case after Murphy Lee, Kyjuan and City Spud dropped out shortly after it was filed, claiming they never permitted lawyers to take legal action.
According to Billboard, Nelly’s attorneys asked the judge to refuse dismissal until deciding whether Ali should face punishment over a “vexatious” lawsuit that “should never have been brought.”
“Plaintiff’s counsel succeeded in its frivolous campaign aimed at forcing Haynes to spend money defending Plaintiff’s ridiculous time-barred claims,” they wrote in response to the dismissal. “The Court is respectfully requested to retain jurisdiction and set a briefing and hearing schedule for [potential sanctions].”
St Lunatics are credited with performing and songwriting across Country Grammar, but the suit claimed the final credits undersold their work. They alleged Nelly “manipulated” them into falsely thinking they’d be paid for their contributions. St Lunatics were credited as features on the songs ‘Steal the Show’ and ‘Wrap Sumden’, while Lee and Ali have additional credits on ‘Batter Up’ and ‘Thicky Thick Girl’.
“Despite repeatedly promising plaintiffs that they would receive full recognition and credit… it eventually became clear that defendant Haynes had no intention of providing the plaintiffs with any such credit or recognition,” the suit read.
Country Grammar was released in June 2000 and included hits such as ‘Ride Wit Me’, ‘E.I.’, and ‘Country Grammar (Hot Shit)’. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and remained there for five consecutive weeks.