Usher Sues Producer Bryan-Michael Cox & Team Over Missing $700K Buckhead Restaurant Money

Usher is taking it from the stage to the courtroom — and this time, it’s over nearly $700,000 he says he’s still owed from a failed Atlanta restaurant venture.

The R&B icon filed a lawsuit in Fulton County on Friday against some very familiar names: superstar producer Bryan-Michael Cox, industry vets Keith Thomas and Charles Hughes, and entertainment attorney Alcide Honoré.

Cox, who helped craft Usher’s biggest classics like “Burn” and “U Got It Bad,” was part of the team that approached the singer last year with a plan to open Homage ATL, a restaurant and lounge in Buckhead. The spot was set to take over the old Ocean Prime location on Piedmont Road — a prime piece of commercial real estate that’s been empty since 2015.

Usher wasn’t interested in being an investor, but he did agree to loan the group $1.7 million, wiring the money to a trust account in January, according to the lawsuit.

But months went by… and no restaurant, no property purchase, and no progress.

By the summer, Usher asked for his money back. In August, he got $1 million, but the group never returned the remaining $700,000.

The lawsuit claims attorney Honoré admitted the funds had been used for “other purposes,” and that giving the remaining money back was “not that easy.”

Now, Usher is suing for $4.9 million in damages — $700,000 for each of the seven claims listed in the suit, including breach of contract, fraud, unjust enrichment, and more.

As of Tuesday, none of the defendants have filed responses or counterclaims.

The courtroom drama marks a serious rift between Usher and one of his closest longtime collaborators. And with the dollar amount — and history — involved, this case is definitely one to watch.