Timbaland Sues Former Manager Gary Marella Over Alleged Millions in Fees

Producer Timbaland has sued his former longtime manager, Gary Marella, in a Los Angeles court. He claims Marella took millions of dollars in unauthorised commissions, fees and reimbursements. Billboard reported the case on 12 November 2026.

A manager runs the business side of an artist's career, and is usually paid a percentage of the artist's earnings, known as a commission. Reimbursements are repayments for costs the manager has paid out on the artist's behalf. Timbaland's lawsuit says Marella falsified financial records to hide the alleged misconduct.

Marella has denied the accusations. He says Timbaland is trying to shift responsibility for his own overspending and financial decisions onto him.

The split between the two began in August 2025, when Timbaland's attorneys sent notice that he was firing Marella. Timbaland has said he started looking into his management team after he received an unexpected foreclosure notice on his home. A foreclosure notice is a formal warning that a lender may take a property when loan payments are not made.

Timbaland is not the only artist in a dispute with a manager. Billboard reported a run of recent artist-manager lawsuits, including new cases filed by Ellie Goulding, Sara Landry, Muni Long and Andra Day. The same report also pointed to a high-profile artist-manager trial involving Chance the Rapper.

Such cases tend to turn on contracts, bank statements and payment records rather than on the music itself. For artists, the question is often where the money went, and who approved it. For managers, the question is usually whether the costs and fees were agreed in writing.

No ruling has been reported in Timbaland's case. Both sides have given their version of events, and the court will decide what the records show.