Mariah Carey wins $20 million legal battle over brother’s defamation lawsuit against her bestselling memoir

Five years after the dispute began, Mariah Carey has secured a legal victory against her brother, Morgan Carey, over her bestselling memoir. A New York judge on Monday dismissed the remaining defamation claims brought against the singer.

Lawsuit dismissed against Carey

As per Rolling Stone, in a ruling issued on October 19, Justice Leslie A. Stroth of the New York State Supreme Court reportedly stated that Morgan had not sufficiently established that the singer acted with “actual malice” when writing about him in The Meaning of Mariah Carey, published in 2020.

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Morgan filed the lawsuit on May 28, 2021, seeking damages he believed would exceed $20 million. He argued that the memoir harmed his reputation by depicting him as violent, alleging that he was involved in cocaine trafficking and referring to behavioural problems during his childhood.

The lawsuit also questioned the accuracy of the claims and alleged that Mariah prioritised the book's commercial prospects over verifying the information included in it.

Morgan further claimed that his sister had relied on their late mother as a source for some of the disputed material.

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The judge found that Morgan had not provided sufficient evidence to support his allegation of actual malice. "Plaintiff has not sufficiently pleaded actual malice on the part of [Mariah],” Justice Stroth said as per Rolling Stone.

“Plaintiff fails to provide any proof that [Mariah] made such statements with knowledge of their falsity or with reckless disregard of their falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth. While plaintiff alleges that [Mariah] demonstrates ill will towards her brother, such statement is insufficient, and plaintiff has not satisfied the pleading requirement for actual malice.”

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The ruling brings the remaining claims in the long-running dispute to an end at this stage. Most of Morgan's claims had already been dismissed in 2022.

What did Mariah Carey's lawyer say?

Reacting to the decision, Mariah's lawyer, John Rosenberg, told Rolling Stone that Carey was “gratified that the court recognized that her memoir addresses significant issues of public interest and dismissed her brother’s defamation claims in their entirety.”

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Morgan's legal team, however, has indicated that the dispute may continue. His lawyer, Richard Altman, told Rolling Stone, “We respectfully disagree with today’s decision as being completely inconsistent with prior rulings in the case. We intend to appeal it very soon.”