Lauryn Hill Suing Cousin Gerald Hill Over Unpaid $65,000 Loan — All The Messy Details
More money, more problems!
Getty Money can make enemies out of friends, and even make enemies out of family. And that seems to have happened to Ms. Lauryn Hill, who is currently suing her cousin for an unpaid loan. Who is Gerald Hill?
Lauryn Hill is a musician that needs no introduction. She got her start as an actress in the film Sister Act 2 opposite Whoopi Goldberg, Hill went on to co-found The Fugees with Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel. Later, Hill had a successful solo career, where she released her seminal solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and had children with Rohan Marley, one of the sons of the legendary Bob Marley.
However, Lauryn Hill has also had her fair share of problems, including serving time in Federal prison for tax evasion charges. Here's what we know about this latest issue of her suing her cousin Gerald Hill over an unpaid loan.
1. Lauryn Hill claims Gerald Hill borrowed $65,000 from her.
According to Vibe, Lauryn Hill claims Gerald Hill borrowed $65,00 from her. The outlet reports that the terms of the agreement was that he was to pay off the loan in three months, and if he didn't, he would pay her at a 10% interest rate for every month after the third month that he didn't pay her back in full.
2. She claims the loan went unpaid for over a year.
"Defendant did not repay any portion of the loan on or before September 15, 2017, triggering the interest rate provision of the Loan Agreement. Furthermore, despite demand for repayment, to date Defendant has not repaid any of the $65,000 principal due and owing under the loan agreement or any of the interest amounts that became due and owing following Defendant’s non-payment,” read the court documents, according to Hip Hop Wired.
3. Even though Gerald Hill could have been sued for a lot more, Lauryn Hill only asked for what she loaned him, plus interest & court fees.
According to Madame Noire, Lauryn Hill could have sued Gerald Hill for a lot more than the $65,00 she initially loaned him, especially since he didn't make nary a payment on the loan. However, Hill said that she was content with simply getting back what she loaned him, plus interest and court fees, which seems rather fair.
4. Lauryn Hill won the case.
The St. Louis American reports that the lawsuit that Lauryn Hill filed against her cousin, Gerald Hill, was filed all the way back in 2017 in New Jersey, but was only adjudicated on November 12th, 2019. The outlet also reports that the court found in her favor.
5. It's unclear why Gerald Hill needed the money.
We can all agree that $65,000 is a lot of money. In fact, for many people, it's a yearly salary. But according to the Jamaica Gleaner, it's unclear why Gerald Hill needed $65,000, or why he went to Lauryn Hill for the money (instead of any other relative). Presumably, they were close enough that he could ask her, and he knew he would get it from her. (It's always the ones closest to you. Sigh.)
6. A judgment was issued against Gerald Hill.
The Source reports that thanks to Gerald Hill claiming that he never wanted to pay Lauryn Hill back, the judge in the case granted Lauryn's request for the $65,000, plus court fees and interest, for a total of $71,000. You weren't going to pay Ms. Lauryn Hill back, sir? Ha! Suffer!
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.