Nicki Minaj’s own legal team can’t seem to get a stack of paperwork into her hands. According to a new court filing, a process server showed up at the rapper’s last known home three separate times, and every visit ended without the papers being delivered.
The documents didn’t come from an opponent. They came from her lawyers, who are trying to walk away from the $275,149.62 Jingle Ball lawsuit she’s been fighting in New York.
Attorney Bruce W. Bieber laid out the saga in an affirmation filed in New York County Supreme Court.
His firm, Kurzman Eisenberg Corbin & Lever, represents Nicki, legally named Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, along with Pink Friday Productions LLC in the case brought by 24/7 Productions (USA) Inc.
After an October 27 order required several forms of service, the firm hired Nicoletti & Harris to handle hand delivery.
The first attempt on October 29 started promisingly, with the concierge reportedly told someone would come down to accept the papers. Bieber wrote that “somebody would come downstairs (for purposes of accepting the papers), but nobody came down.”
The server tried again on October 30 and was told Nicki wasn’t home, though her husband was. The update passed along to Bieber also noted “that Minaj and her husband have a tendency of not answering their phones.”
A third visit on November 2 got a simple answer that Nicki was unavailable. No further information was offered, according to the filing.
Still, her lawyers argue she knows exactly what’s going on. Bieber said he emailed the papers on October 28, and the firm followed up with certified mail and FedEx the next day. “KECL has done everything within its power to effectuate in-hand service upon [Nicki Minaj],” he wrote.
The firm first asked to withdraw on October 23, pointing to disagreements over legal strategy and a breakdown in communication. That second reason reads a little differently now, given the server’s notes about unanswered phones.
The underlying fight goes back to December 2023, when Nicki played Jingle Ball dates and promoted Pink Friday 2 in New York. 24/7 says it’s owed $275,149.62 for production work, plus interest and court costs.
A big chunk of the dispute centers on a $103,730 bill from the Langham New York. That tab included a suite priced at $9,500 a night for seven nights.
Nicki’s side hasn’t rolled over. In July, her lawyers argued the hospitality spending had been approved and that Pink Friday Productions had already paid the bills.
They also pushed back on 24/7’s attempt to make her personally liable for company debts.
Judge Leslie A. Stroth previously paused the proceedings, AllHipHop reported, and set a December 1 hearing at 10 A.M. on the withdrawal request. Answering papers were due November 12, with replies due November 23.
In the latest filing, Bieber again asked the court for permission to step away and for time for Nicki and Pink Friday Productions to find new counsel. Who takes over the Jingle Ball fight, if anyone, is now a question headed for that December hearing.
