Judge Allows Missy Elliott Co-Writing Lawsuit to Proceed Despite Partial Victory in ‘Heartbroken’ Track Dispute

Missy Elliott’s legal battle over co-writing credits will proceed to trial after a federal judge denied her motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Terry Williams, who claims he was not properly credited as a co-writer on several songs, including the late Aaliyah’s 1996 track “Heartbroken.”

On Aug. 27, 2024, U.S. District Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro ruled against Elliott’s request for summary judgment in the lawsuit.

Williams alleges that he co-wrote five songs with Elliott, but she failed to give him proper credit. While Elliott’s legal team argued that four of these songs were produced before she met Williams, the court found that there were sufficient disputes over the facts to require a trial.

“Considering these conflicting arguments and evidence, a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether Williams and Elliott were working together at the time of the production of the SISTA album … and whether Williams’ contributions to the Unpublished Songs were used on derivative songs released on the album,” Judge Quiñones Alejandro stated in her ruling.

This ruling does not mean that Williams has won the lawsuit but rather that the case will move forward to a trial, where a jury will determine whether his claims are valid.

However, Elliott did secure a partial victory. The judge dismissed Williams’ claim regarding “Heartbroken,” the track from Aaliyah’s One in a Million album.

Williams had waited until 2018 to file his lawsuit, long after the statute of limitations had expired. The court ruled that a reasonable person in Williams’ position would have known about the song’s release and his alleged involvement well before then.

“Considering the success of Aaliyah’s One in a Million album, on which ‘Heartbroken’ was released, and Williams’ work in the music industry after the album’s release, including with Elliott, a reasonable person in Williams’ position would have been on notice of the use of his unpublished song in the purportedly derivative song ‘Heartbroken’ by Aaliyah,” the judge wrote.

Missy Elliott, widely known for her groundbreaking contributions to music as a producer, songwriter, and performer, initially gained fame as a member of the R&B group Sista in the 1990s.

The group’s formation and early work are central to the disputed co-writing credits in this lawsuit.

As of now, neither Missy Elliott nor Terry Williams have publicly commented on the ongoing legal proceedings.