Lauryn Hill Sued for Fraud, Diddy Drama Continues, NYC Mayor Hires Jay-Z’s Lawyer & More Legal News About how Diddy…

Lauryn Hill Sued for Fraud, Diddy Drama Continues, NYC Mayor Hires Jay-Z’s Lawyer & More Legal News
In this week’s Legal Beat, a civil war erupts within the Fugees, Diddy appeals his bail ruling and faces new allegations, Eric Adams enlists a top music lawyer, and much more.

This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.

This week: A civil war within the Fugees as Pras sues Lauryn Hill for fraud; the latest on Diddy’s legal drama, including an appeal and two new lawsuits; New York mayor Eric Adams hires Jay-Z’s lawyer to defend him against federal criminal charges; and much more.

THE BIG STORY: Fugee Feud
The Fugees — a hip hop trio made up of Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel — rose to fame in the mid-1990s with hits like “Killing Me Softly,” “Ready or Not” and “Fu-Gee-La,” launching solo careers for all three. But 25 years later, it appears something is rotten in the state of Fugee.

In a scathing lawsuit Tuesday (Oct. 1) that took personal shots at Hill, Pras accused his bandmate of fraud and breach of contract. He claimed that she had exploited his need for cash amid mounting legal problems to get him to sign onto a plan for a 2023 tour in which she enriched herself at his expense.

“It did not matter to Hill if she took full advantage of Michel’s vulnerability — her friend and creative partner of over 30 years,” his lawyers wrote. “In fact, she counted on exploiting that vulnerability to carry out her scheme.”

Michel also pinned the blame on Hill for the group’s recently canceled 2024 tour, which had been set to kick off in early August but was quietly called off just days before it was set to start. He cited her “gross mismanagement” as a key factor behind poor ticket sales.

Hill quickly responded with a detailed rebuttal, calling it “a baseless lawsuit” that was full of “false claims and unwarranted attacks.” She said Pras had omitted key details — like that she had expanded the tours specifically to help him pay his legal bills and had secured him advances that had not yet been paid back.

For more details on the lawsuit and Hill’s response, go read our entire story here.

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