Judge Allows Missy Elliott Co-Writing Lawsuit to Proceed Despite ‘Heartbroken’ Track Dismissal

A lawsuit involving Missy Elliott’s songwriting credits is set to proceed to trial, despite a recent partial victory for the rapper. The case, brought by Terry Williams, alleges that Missy Elliott failed to properly credit him as a co-writer on the late Aaliyah’s 1996 track “Heartbroken.”

On August 27, Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro ruled against Elliott’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. According to Elliott’s legal team, four of the five songs Williams claims to have co-written with the artist were produced before the two ever met.

These tracks, they argue, belong to Sista, the R&B group that helped launch Elliott’s career in the 1990s, as reported by Billboard.

However, Judge Alejandro noted in an official statement that the conflicting evidence presented by both parties creates “a genuine issue of material fact” regarding whether Williams and Missy Elliott collaborated during the production of Sista’s album and whether Williams’ contributions were used in the songs that were ultimately released.

While the judge rejected Elliott’s request for summary judgment—which would have allowed the case to be decided without a full trial—Williams has not yet won the lawsuit. The case will now proceed to court, where Williams must prove his claims before a jury.

In a minor victory for Missy Elliott, the judge dismissed Williams’ claim that he co-wrote “Heartbroken.” The judge ruled that Williams’ decision to wait until 2018 to file a lawsuit over a track released more than two decades earlier was barred by the statute of limitations.