EXCLUSIVE: Jermaine Dupri Resolves $18M Sony Lawsuit With No Terms Revealed

Jermaine Dupri ended his $18 million Sony lawsuit, leaving the dollar figure hidden behind a quiet court filing.

A notice filed Friday in Manhattan federal court says So So Def, Dupri and Sony Music Entertainment resolved the case before Sony answered.

“Pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Plaintiffs voluntarily dismiss this action without prejudice as the parties have resolved the matter prior to joinder.”

Rule 41(a)(1), explained by Cornell Law School, gives plaintiffs one clean exit early in a federal case. The rule allows them to file a dismissal notice before the defendant answers or seeks judgment, without the judge’s permission.

That is why Sony did not have to admit, deny, or publicly fight the claims before the case closed. “Without prejudice” is the key phrase because it means the dismissal was not a win for Sony on the merits.

It keeps the door open for Dupri to sue again if the private resolution breaks or the deal does not hold. “Prior to joinder” means Sony had not yet joined the dispute by filing its formal answer to the complaint.

The filing says the parties resolved the matter, but gives no settlement amount, payment schedule or accounting fix.

AllHipHop broke the original story: the July 6 complaint accused Sony of shorting So So Def across a star-heavy catalog.

The original case said Sony mishandled royalties tied to Xscape, Da Brat, Kris Kross, Jagged Edge, Usher, Mariah Carey, Bow Wow, J-Kwon and Bone Crusher.

“As it turns out, many of SME’s dealings with So-So Def have not been lawful and have harmed So-So Def in its business.”

Dupri said the problem surfaced after Sony issued new and amended royalty statements in 2023, then a desk audit followed. The Kris Kross claims carried the sharpest money trail because those first two albums drove a hidden accounting dispute.

“SME attempted to conceal all Kris Kross royalties due Plaintiffs for over 20 years in a separate royalty accounting system unknown to [So So Def]. SME pretextually claimed it was unaware of its failure to account to Plaintiffs. SME intentionally failed to account to [So So Def] to avoid paying millions of dollars to the [So So Def].”

The complaint claimed 2023 and 2024 royalty statements showed more than $33 million in foreign Kris Kross sales. Dupri said Sony still owed at least $2.2 million from Totally Krossed Out and Da Bomb.

Xscape and Da Brat had their own numbers, with Dupri claiming Sony underreported nearly $2 million from early albums.

“Given the systemic pattern of (1) underreporting royalties (2) failure of reporting royalites and (3) altering and/or updating statements to report previously earned royalties, SME has engaged in willful deceitful actions designed to harm Plaintiffs in their business.”

The lawsuit sought at least $18 million, interest, attorneys’ fees, and any other relief the court deemed fair.

Christopher Brown signed the August 28 dismissal notice for Dupri, So So Def Recordings and So So Def Productions.