‌Pharrell Williams pushed back against his former Neptunes partner’s latest legal move. Chad Hugo filed a federal lawsuit claiming the “Happy” hitmaker owes him up to $1 million in unpaid royalties.

Hugo dropped the lawsuit on January 23 in the federal court in California. The producer accused Pharrell of withholding substantial money from their work as The Neptunes and N.E.R.D. since 2021.

Now, Pharrell’s team fired back through a representative statement to Billboard. They called Hugo’s timing “premature” and said a standard accounting review was already happening.

“The lawsuit filed is premature as there may not even be a dispute between the parties,” the rep explained. “If the accounting review determines that money is owed, the appropriate party will pay it.”

The statement emphasized Pharrell’s good intentions throughout their business relationship.

“Pharrell has consistently acted in good faith. He has great respect for Chad and looks forward to resolving this in a way that honors their shared history.”

Hugo’s complaint paints a different picture of their financial arrangement. The lawsuit describes Hugo as the “principal composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and producer responsible for programming, instrumentation and overall sound design” for The Neptunes.

According to court documents, Pharrell handled all financial matters for their company N.E.R.D. Music LLC, which they formed in 2014. Hugo claims his former partner failed to provide proper accounting for income, expenses and royalties.

The producer estimates he’s owed between $325,000 and $1 million just from N.E.R.D.’s 2017 album No One Ever Really Dies. Hugo says he hasn’t received his fair share from album sales, touring income and merchandising deals.

“Williams engaged in self-dealing, concealed material information, and diverted revenues owed to plaintiff,” Hugo’s attorney, Brent J. Lehma,n argued. “Such willful, fraudulent, and malicious conduct warrants the imposition of punitive damages.”

This marks the second time Hugo has taken Pharrell to court in recent years. In 2024, Hugo sued for control of the trademark for the name The Neptunes.

That earlier lawsuit accused Pharrell of “fraudulently” seeking sole ownership of three separate Neptunes trademarks. Hugo claimed this violated their longstanding agreement to split everything equally as partners.

Pharrell’s representatives disputed those trademark allegations at the time. They said the goal was to protect the brand from third parties, not to exclude Hugo from ownership.

The legal battles have significantly damaged the duo’s personal relationship. Pharrell revealed in interviews following the 2024 lawsuit that he and Hugo were no longer speaking.

Their partnership as The Neptunes dominated Hip-Hop production in the 2000s. The duo crafted massive hits for Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Clipse, Ludacris and Gwen Stefani, among many others.