Missy Elliott Reaches Last-Minute Settlement in Long-Running Songwriting Credit Dispute

Missy Elliott has reached a settlement with a former collaborator who alleged he was cut out of credits for songs the two purportedly wrote together in the 1990s.

Producer Terry Williams had sought to take Elliott to trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, claiming he co-wrote four tracks on All the Sistas Around Da World, the lone 1994 album from Elliott’s short-lived R&B group Sista. The project, which flopped commercially and was shelved shortly after release, marked Elliott’s first official release and early partnership with then-unknown producer Timbaland before its eventual rerelease in 2017.

Elliott denied Williams’ claims in court filings, insisting she did not meet him until after the album’s release. The settlement was reportedly brokered during a sidebar with U.S. District Judge Nitza Quiñones Alejandro, just as a deputy clerk was preparing to bring 38 jurors into the courtroom.

Neither side commented on the terms, though Elliott’s attorney told Courthouse News that a forthcoming court order will outline the agreement.

The deal is expected to close out a nearly seven-year legal battle that stretched across four jurisdictions. Williams first filed suit in 2018 against Elliott, Timbaland, the late singer Aaliyah’s estate, and several record labels, also claiming co-authorship of Aaliyah’s “Heartbroken” from her 1996 hit album One in a Million.

The case pinballed between courts as Williams pursued claims against various defendants, at times representing himself after parting ways with his lawyer. Quiñones eventually pared back the Philadelphia case, dismissing claims against Timbaland for lack of jurisdiction and later ruling that the statute of limitations barred Williams’ claims regarding Aaliyah’s One in a Million.