Chad Hugo Sues Pharrell Williams Over Royalties

Chad Hugo, co-founder of the influential production duo the Neptunes, has filed a federal lawsuit against his longtime partner Pharrell Williams, accusing him of withholding royalties and financial records related to their joint ventures. The complaint, lodged in a California court on Friday, seeks at least $325,000 and potentially more than $1 million in damages stemming primarily from the 2017 N.E.R.D. album No One Ever Really Dies, along with punitive awards for alleged misconduct.

Hugo, a Virginia Beach native who met Williams as a teenager in the 1980s, describes himself in the filing as the principal composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, and producer for the Neptunes. The dispute centers on N.E.R.D. Music, LLC, a company the pair formed in 2014 to manage their shared intellectual property. Under the operating agreement, Williams was responsible for financial reporting, with profits from touring and other income split 50 percent to Williams and 25 percent each to Hugo and N.E.R.D. bandmate Shay Haley. Merchandising and trademark revenues were to be divided equally among the three.

According to the lawsuit, Hugo has been denied access to essential records since 2021,...