Nicki Minaj allegedly owes nearly $230,000 in unpaid legal bills to lawyers who defended her against recent accusations of copyright infringement — and the firm now says she’s even ghosted its collection lawsuit.
Lawyers from the national firm Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani represented Minaj in a 2023 lawsuit that claimed she had stolen the beat to her 2014 song “I Lied” from a composer named Julius Johnson. The case settled in late 2024 on confidential terms.
Now, two years later, Gordon Rees is suing Nicki over claims that she still owes $229,541 for that work. The firm filed the suit in March and, after the star rapper failed to respond for months, a judge is now warning that a default judgment could soon be entered against her.
Reps for Minaj did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday (July 14).
In a March complaint filed in Los Angeles court, attorneys for Gordon Rees claimed Minaj had breached the contract she signed when she hired the firm to defend her in the “I Lied” case. They attached the actual agreement, which included industry-standard language about the so-called billable hours system used by all major law firms for such work.
“GRSM’s time will be accounted for in tenths of an hour and fees are calculated by applying hourly rates assigned to GRSM attorneys,” the contract reads. “Fees and expenses will be billed monthly and are due upon receipt. Client is liable for GRSM’s fees regardless of the outcome of this matter.”
The agreement detailed the pricey hourly rates for the firm’s lawyers, including $650 per hour for work done by senior partners and $425 for lower-level associates. Such rates are typical for national firms doing high-profile work, and far lower than the rates that some top lawyers at elite firms charge.
Minaj’s big bill highlights the difficult calculus presented by the many copyright lawsuits that music stars face. Under the American legal system, defendants typically pay their own lawyers even when they defeat a case, incentivizing artists to quickly settle with a small payment rather than incurring a much larger bill. That in turn encourages more cases, seeking what critics sometimes call “nuisance settlements.”
Minaj settled her case 18 months after it was first filed, after substantial motion practice by both sides. In the notice asking for the case to be dismissed, the parties said explicitly that each side would “bear their respective attorneys’ fees and costs.”
Ironically, Gordon Rees says that same approach won’t govern its lawsuit against Minaj. The firm cited a provision in its services contract which says that, if the firm was forced to sue her to collect a bill, the winner of the case “will be awarded attorneys fees and costs incurred in a collection proceeding.” That could add even more money to Nicki’s bill.
Over the past six months, the star has faced multiple legal headaches over debts. In January, a judge threatened to order the sale of her Los Angeles area mansion before she finally paid a $500,000 judgment to a concert security guard allegedly assaulted by her husband. Then in March, she was hit with a lawsuit claiming she had “inexplicably” stiffed a concert production company on $275,000 in fees and had “never given a reason.”
Court records show that Minaj has never responded to the case filed by Gordon Rees. Earlier this month, the firm filed a motion for a default judgment — meaning the judge will essentially rule the case uncontested and award the firm its fees. Last week, a judge ordered a hearing for September in which she could grant that request.
