What began as a $50 million lawsuit towards Nelly has now grow to be a pricey lesson in authorized penalties for the legal professional who pushed the case too far.

The St. Louis Hip-Hop icon is demanding $78,007 in authorized charges from lawyer Precious Felder Gates, who represented former St. Lunatics member Ali in what a federal choose has branded a totally “frivolous” lawsuit over Country Grammar royalties.

The tables have turned dramatically since Ali first accused Nelly of reducing his previous crew out of credit and funds from the 2000 debut album that launched the rapper to superstardom. What Ali’s authorized crew thought could be a payday has as an alternative grow to be a cautionary story in regards to the dangers of pursuing weak instances towards well-funded defendants.

Nelly’s authorized crew, led by veteran music business litigator Kenneth Freundlich, meticulously documented their work defending towards what they referred to as a baseless assault. The $78,000 tab breaks all the way down to 142 hours of labor.

“I believe that $78,007.50 is a reasonable fee for the services rendered by me and my colleagues in defending the action after November 25, 2024,” Freundlich wrote in courtroom filings.

The case started unraveling virtually instantly after it was filed. Three of the 4 St. Lunatics members rapidly distanced themselves from the lawsuit, saying they by no means approved the authorized motion and didn’t wish to sue their former bandmate.

That left Ali standing alone with a case that was already on shaky authorized floor.

The lawsuit alleged that Nelly had “manipulated” his former crew members into believing they might obtain correct credit score and royalties for his or her contributions to Country Grammar, the album that spent 5 weeks atop the Billboard 200 and spawned hits like “Country Grammar” and “E.I.”

But Nelly’s attorneys argued the claims have been barred by the Copyright Act’s three-year statute of limitations, because the album was launched in 2000 and the lawsuit wasn’t filed till 2024. Faced with this apparent authorized hurdle, Ali dropped the case fully in April.

However, Nelly’s authorized crew wasn’t content material to easily stroll away.

They pushed for sanctions towards Felder Gates, arguing that the case “should never have been brought” and represented the kind of “vexatious” litigation that exploits the expense and hassle of defending against frivolous claims.

Felder Gates continues to defend her agency’s conduct, telling Billboard she “acted with honest conviction that our client’s claims merited judicial consideration.”

She argued that her crew held “a reasonable and well-supported belief that viable arguments existed to [extend] the statute of limitations.”

But the choose wasn’t shopping for these arguments. His ruling sends a transparent message to attorneys who may take into account submitting questionable lawsuits towards main artists: there will probably be penalties for pursuing instances that lack advantage.

Felder Gates could have the chance to argue for a decrease high quality earlier than the choose settles on a remaining quantity, however the courtroom’s order means she’s going to finally must pay Nelly some portion of his authorized prices.

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