AceShowbiz - A federal judge has ruled that Missy Elliott must face trial in a lawsuit filed by Terry Williams, who claims to have co-written several of her songs in the 1990s. However, the judge dismissed allegations that Elliott co-wrote "Heartbroken", a song released by Aaliyah.

In a ruling on August 27, Judge Nitza I. Quinones Alejandro refused to dismiss Williams' lawsuit, which alleges that he collaborated with Elliott on various songs but was denied proper credit as a co-writer. Elliott's attorneys argued that she did not meet Williams until after four of the five allegedly co-written songs had been produced, but Williams disputes this claim. The judge ruled that a jury would need to determine the validity of these conflicting statements.

While the judge allowed the lawsuit to proceed, she dismissed Williams' claim that he co-wrote "Heartbroken", which was released by Aaliyah in 1996. Judge Alejandro ruled that Williams had known for decades that he had not been credited on the track and had waited too long to sue, exceeding the statute of limitations.

Despite this dismissal, Williams' lawsuit remains active and will head to trial, where he must prove his allegations before a jury. Neither side has commented on the ruling.

In a separate ruling, Judge Alejandro also dismissed Williams' claim that Elliott sold the rights to "Heartbroken" to Aaliyah without his consent. The judge found that Williams did not exercise due diligence in recognizing the alleged infringement and that his claim was barred by the statute of limitations.