By Betsy Powell Toronto Star Pop Music Critic

[HIGH-PROFILE DEFENDANTS: Sarah McLachlan (above) and Jewel (below) are the targets of music industry lawsuits.]

Two of the pop world's biggest stars have been hit with lawsuits while a songwriting court case involving Sarah McLachlan continues into its fifth week in Vancouver.

Four musicians are claiming Grammy-winner Lauryn Hill, lead singer of The Fugees, owes them millions of dollars in royalties for work they did on her hit solo album, The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill.

Alaskan pop-folkie Jewel is also the target of litigation. Her former manager, Inga Vainshtein, is seeking more than $10 million (U.S.) from the singer, claiming she was fired after Jewel's mother engineered a rift between them.

Meanwhile, McLachlan wrapped up her testimony this week by rejecting claims that a former musical collaborator, Darryl Neudorf, was not given proper credit for work on four songs that appeared on the singer's 1988 debut, Touch. Neudorf is suing McLachlan and Nettwerk, her record label, for compensation.

Industry watchers say it's too early to judge whether the recent spate of lawsuits involving high-profile singers suggests a trend is developing, but they acknowledge it's a possibility.

"Somebody goes ahead (and sues) . . . and it emboldens other people who are feeling the same way," says Michael McCarty, president of EMI Music Publishing Canada.

Still, McCarty cautioned against jumping to that conclusion. "In the history of the music business, there's always been a lot of disputes about credit and authorship. There was a rash of Michael Jackson lawsuits in the eighties; he used to get sued every six months."

Indeed, the bigger the star the likelier the lawsuit.

"If it's an album that's going nowhere no one's going to bother," says Len Glickman, an entertainment lawyer with Cassels Brock and Blackwell.

Hill's New York-based public relations firm issued a brief response yesterday to the U.S. federal lawsuit alleging she improperly took sole production and songwriting credits for the 14 songs on her bestselling album.

"The claim is without any merit whatsoever," says Nathalie Moar, a New York-based official with DKA Public Relations. "They were appropriately credited for their contribution on the album. This is an attempt to take advantage of her success and it will be dealt with through the courts."

The musicians - Vada Nobles, Johari Newton, Tejumold Newton and Rasheem Pugh - are asking a judge to award them one-third of the $6 million (U.S.) or more they believe the album has earned, as well as credit for co-producing and co-writing its songs.

Atlantic Records, Jewel's label, hasn't commented on the lawsuit naming the singer.