Chad Hugo has filed a lawsuit against Pharrell that accuses Skateboard P of withholding Neptunes and N.E.R.D royalties.
On Jan. 23, attorneys for Hugo sued Pharrell in United States District Court for the Central District of California. The suit accuses P of breach of fiduciary duty and hiding the production duo’s accounting in a “systemic denial of Plaintiff’s contractual and ownership rights in the Company and in The Neptunes Entities.”
Hugo claims he participated in nearly 50 studio sessions from 2019-2021. However, Pharrell “denied Plaintiff his rightful publishing share and share of record royalties, and wrongfully took full credit for Plaintiff’s contributions without proper attribution or compensation,” according to the suit.
In addition, Hugo claims he is owed up to $1 milliion for royalties for N.E.R.D’s 2017 album No One Ever Really Dies, as well as a percentage of merch sales. He is seeking a jury trial.
This lawsuit has been in the making for a couple of years. Back in April of 2024, Chad filed legal action against Pharrell for allegedly fraudulently trying to seek sole control of the Neptunes trademark.
“Pharrell is surprised by this,” a spokesperson for Pharrell told Billboard at the time. “We have reached out on multiple occasions to share in the ownership and administration of the trademark and will continue to make that offer. The goal here was to make sure a third party doesn’t get a hold of the trademark and to guarantee Chad and Pharrell share in ownership and administration.”
XXL has reached out to Pharrell’s attorney for comment about the new lawsuit.
See Excerpts From Chad Hugo’s Lawsuit Against Pharrell
