Usher Drops A $4.9 Million Bombshell Lawsuit On Longtime Producer Bryan-Michael Cox Over Failed Buckhead Restaurant Deal

R&B icon Usher Raymond has launched a multimillion-dollar legal assault on longtime collaborator Bryan-Michael Cox and several business associates, accusing them of misusing a $1.7 million loan intended for a Buckhead restaurant project that never came to life.

According to a newly filed complaint in Fulton County Superior Court, Usher says he wired the full $1.7 million in January into a trust account controlled by attorney Alcide Honoré. The funds were meant to help Cox and partners Keith Thomas and Charles Hughes secure a $6.3 million property on Piedmont Road for a planned restaurant and lounge called Homage ATL.

Repayment Stalls, Money Goes Missing

The lawsuit claims Cox’s team repaid $1 million later that summer — but the remaining $700,000 never made its way back to Usher.

Usher’s attorneys allege Honoré “all but admitted” the money had been spent on other ventures, quoting him as saying returning the remaining balance “was not that easy” because the funds were “deployed for other purposes.”

The complaint outlines seven counts — four against Honoré, and three against Cox, Thomas, and Hughes — each seeking at least $700,000 plus interest, attorney fees, and punitive damages. In total, Usher is seeking $4.9 million.

Cox Responds — But Distances Himself

Bryan-Michael Cox issued a statement Monday describing himself as merely a “passive minority shareholder” in the venture, insisting he had no role in the transaction at the heart of the lawsuit.
He also emphasized his personal relationship with Usher, saying their 27-year friendship “remains fully intact.”

Honoré told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he has not yet reviewed the complaint and considers it “premature to comment on specific claims.”
Attempts to contact Thomas and Hughes were unsuccessful.

A Partnership Tested

Cox and Usher have crafted some of the biggest R&B records of the past two decades, including “Burn” and “U Got It Bad.” Their deep musical history makes this legal clash all the more dramatic.

Court documents stress that Usher treated this as a loan, not an investment — he declined to become an equity partner but agreed to provide short-term financial backing via the trust account.

What Happens Next

The case is now moving forward in Fulton County Superior Court, where Usher’s legal team has already begun accruing attorney fees.
No defendant has filed a formal response yet.

If the court sides with Usher, the decision could send shockwaves through celebrity-backed business deals — especially those built on friendship and long-standing creative partnerships.

Usher says he gave $1.7 million for a high-profile Buckhead restaurant that never opened. Now he wants the rest of his money back — plus millions more — in a legal battle that has put one of R&B’s tightest creative duos on opposing sides of the courtroom.