Nicki Minaj's Lawyers Ask to Leave Her Lawsuit as Fee Claim Heads for a Hearing

Nicki Minaj's New York lawyers have asked a court to let them withdraw from her lawsuit with concert promoter 24/7 Productions, saying their relationship with the rapper has "irretrievably broken down." The request came in a court filing dated Nov. 4, reported by Billboard.

The firm, Kurzman Eisenberg Corbin & Lever, asked to be relieved immediately. In an earlier filing, dated Oct. 23, attorney Bruce W. Bieber said the firm and Minaj could not agree on how to run the case and that communication had broken down. The firm also said it had not been able to get Minaj to acknowledge its request to leave. A process server was told on Nov. 2 that she was not available at her residence.

The promoter's case is about money spent on shows. 24/7 Productions says Minaj refused to repay $275,000 it spent on the 2023 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball concerts and later shows tied to Pink Friday 2. Minaj's lawyers have denied the claims in court. They called the case "an ill-advised attempt to sue a famous deep-pocket."

A separate fight over legal bills is also before the courts. Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, a Los Angeles firm, filed a collection lawsuit in March. A collection lawsuit is a case brought to recover money a person is said to owe. The firm says Minaj refused for more than two years to pay nearly $230,000 in legal fees.

Those fees came from a 2023 copyright lawsuit. That case claimed Minaj took the beat for her 2014 song "I Lied" from Julius Johnson. It settled in late 2024 on confidential terms. Gordon Rees says Minaj agreed to hourly rates of $650 for senior partners and $425 for lower-level associates.

The firm has now asked for a default judgment, a ruling a court can enter when one side does not respond. According to Billboard, Gordon Rees seeks $254,791 in original unpaid fees and $40,814 in collection costs, a total of $295,605. Rolling Stone reports that the firm says Minaj now owes $295,605 for services, fees and interest, and that a hearing on that request is set for Nov. 16.

Two law firms are now in court over the same client, and neither side's version has been tested by a judge. For the lawyers, the dispute is about being paid for hours of work. For the promoter, it is about being repaid for concerts that were already staged. Either way, the next date on the calendar is Nov. 16.