From Hollywood to Home: Black Voices in Entertainment
- Dismissed without prejudice by court filing; each party to bear their own expenses, costs, and attorney’s fees.
- Pras Michel accused Lauryn Hill of gross mismanagement, financial fraud, exploiting his legal troubles, and harming tour payments.
- Pras Michel was convicted on multiple counts including conspiracy and unregistered foreign agent charges; faces a 14-year federal sentence and is appealing.
Fugees member Pras Michel has officially dropped his lawsuit against former bandmate Lauryn Hill just weeks before he is scheduled to begin serving a federal prison sentence later this month.
According to court documents cited by Billboard, attorneys representing both Michel and Hill filed a motion on Wednesday confirming that the lawsuit has been dismissed. The filing states that the case was “dismissed without prejudice, with each party to bear his, her or its own expenses, costs, and attorney’s fees.” Because the dismissal was filed without prejudice, Michel retains the legal right to refile the claims at a later date if he chooses.
Michel originally filed the lawsuit in October 2024, accusing Hill of gross mismanagement and alleging that she defrauded him during business dealings connected to the Fugees’ reunion performances. The complaint also claimed that Hill exploited Michel’s ongoing legal troubles to pressure him into participating in a Fugees reunion tour.
According to the filing, Michel alleged that Hill abruptly ended the group’s 2023 tour early, which he described as a calculated move intended to benefit her financially. He also accused Hill of canceling the 2024 anniversary tour celebrating her landmark album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The lawsuit further argued that Hill’s reputation for arriving late to performances and her alleged lack of transparency surrounding the tour’s financial management caused him significant financial losses.
Michel sought compensation for lost income as well as punitive damages and legal costs. The complaint also claimed that Hill and her touring company MLH failed to pay certain expenses connected to the 2023 tour, including hotel accommodations, credit card bills, and payments owed to musicians and crew members. According to the lawsuit, Hill and her company maintained full control over the tour’s business operations, which Michel argued created a lack of transparency regarding how the tour’s finances were handled.
Hill strongly denied the allegations when the lawsuit was first filed. In a statement at the time, she described the claims as baseless and filled with false accusations.
“I’ve been silent and pushing through because I understood that Pras was under duress because of his legal battles and that this was perhaps affecting his judgment, state of mind, and character,” Hill said in response to the lawsuit. “I was not in Pras’ life when he decided to make the unfortunate decision that led to his current legal troubles. I did not advise that he make that decision and therefore am in no way responsible for his decision and its consequences, though I have taken it upon myself to help.”
Neither Michel nor Hill’s legal teams publicly explained why the lawsuit was dropped.
Michel is scheduled to begin serving a 14 year federal prison sentence on March 30. In November 2025, he was convicted of multiple charges tied to criminal conspiracy and illegal foreign lobbying. Prosecutors argued that Michel played a role in funneling money from Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho into former President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign.
The case went to trial in 2023, where Michel was found guilty on ten counts including conspiracy, concealment of material facts, falsifying records, witness tampering, and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.
Michel is currently appealing the conviction and has asked the court to allow him to remain free while the appeal process moves forward.
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