Nicki Minaj Scores a Legal Win as L.A. Court Rejects Law Firm’s Attempted Default Judgment

Nicki Minaj has scored a legal victory—at least for now.

A Los Angeles court has rejected an attempted default judgment filing in Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP v. Nicki Minaj, according to a rejection issued on September 8, 2026.

The court found that the filing appeared to assume the law firm was entitled to payment based on a written contract. The problem? The contract at issue was not signed.

The court indicated that if the law firm ultimately pursues a default judgment, the claim would need to proceed under a quantum meruit theory. In simple terms, that would require the firm to establish the reasonable value of the legal services allegedly provided rather than relying on the unsigned contract to establish the amount owed.

The court also determined that the declaration submitted with the filing did not properly address the damages calculation required under quantum meruit. Additionally, the court stated that attorneys’ fees would not be warranted under that theory.

For now, the attempted default judgment has been rejected and returned, giving Minaj a favorable development in the ongoing legal dispute.