ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – Nelly and three other former members of the St. Lunatics face a new lawsuit from the recording studio behind many of their early hits. The lawsuit seeks tens of millions of dollars in a dispute over royalties from the group’s “Country Grammar” album and other tracks.

D2 Productions, Inc. formally filed the lawsuit Monday in St. Louis County Circuit Court, targeting Cornell Haynes Jr. (“Nelly”), Ali Jones (“Ali”), Torri Harper (“Murphy Lee”) and Robert Kyjuan Cleveland (“Kyjuan”).

According to the lawsuit, all four members used D2’s studios from 1997 to 2000 to record compositions that appeared on their “Country Grammar” and “Nellyville” albums. The lawsuit claims that the master recordings were created at D2’s studios with a contractual condition that they were “the sole property of D2” and would never be sold, transferred, or licensed to a third party.

In June 2000, D2 says it released Nelly from his contractual obligations for $75,000, based on the belief that the songs were created by Nelly and other members of the St. Lunatics. D2 continued to expect royalties from songs under the St. Lunatics’ contracts.

The lawsuit alleges that Harper, Cleveland, and Jones secretly conspired for Nelly to take full writing credits and register as the copyright holder of the songs, thereby avoiding contractual obligations with D2.

This “Secret Arrangement,” as the lawsuit calls it, allowed Nelly to collect all royalties as the apparent copyright holder for the tracks, while compensating members of the St. Lunatics without honoring D2’s contractual obligations.

According to the lawsuit, D2 only became aware of this arrangement in 2022, after Nelly and Jones publicly discussed it in interviews and podcasts, admitting that Nelly wasn’t the sole writer and composer of various songs.

The lawsuit contends that D2 was never paid its rightful share of the royalties under the Secret Arrangement, despite contractual obligations with Harper, Cleveland, and Jones.

It also claims that Nelly sold a 50% interest in his musical catalog rights for $50 million in 2023, which included rights tied to St. Lunatics’ songs that D2 believes it is entitled to. D2 has never been compensated for the use of master recordings from the albums “Country Grammar” and “Nellyville,” per the lawsuit.

The lawsuit cites breach of contract, fraud, misrepresentation, and conspiracy among causes of action. D2 is asking for at least $10 million for general damages and at least $10 million for special damages, along with an order granting D2 sole ownership, custody, and control of the master recordings in question.

This new legal challenge is independent of a lawsuit filed last year by three members of the St. Lunatics against Nelly, which alleged they were denied credit and royalties as due from the “Country Grammar” album.