*Mariah Carey has won a major legal victory against her brother, Morgan Carey, after a New York judge dismissed his $20 million defamation lawsuit. The ruling ends the case at the trial-court level after more than five years of litigation, although Morgan plans to appeal.
New York Supreme Court Justice Leslie A. Stroth issued the decision Monday, October 19, finding that Morgan failed to establish the legal grounds needed to pursue his claims. According to Billboard, the judge concluded that Morgan had not sufficiently alleged “actual malice.”
“The Court finds that Plaintiff has not sufficiently pleaded actual malice on the part of Defendant,” Stroth wrote.
Under New York’s applicable defamation law, Morgan needed to show that Mariah knowingly made false statements or acted with reckless disregard for their accuracy. The lawsuit originated in 2021, following publication of Mariah’s 2020 memoir, “The Meaning of Mariah Carey.” Morgan disputed passages describing him as violent and suggesting he sold cocaine and had spent time in prison. He maintained that the allegations were false and damaged his reputation.
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As EURweb previously reported, Morgan initially challenged several descriptions of his behavior and family relationships. In 2002, most of his claims were dismissed. However, two claims involving alleged drug dealing and imprisonment survived, allowing the litigation to continue.
In the latest decision, Stroth determined that Morgan had not provided sufficient grounds to establish that his sister deliberately published false information or recklessly disregarded the truth. The ruling does not establish that every disputed statement in the memoir was true.
“Ms. Carey is gratified that the Court recognized that her memoir addresses significant issues of public interest and dismissed her brother’s defamation claims in their entirety,” Mariah’s attorney, John Rosenberg, said in a statement.
Morgan’s attorney, Richard Altman, disagreed. “We respectfully disagree with today’s decision as being inconsistent with prior rulings in the case,” he told Billboard.
His legal team intends to appeal, leaving open the possibility of another chapter in the siblings’ long-running court battle.
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