Mariah Carey brother defamation lawsuit turns on a missing piece of proof
Morgan Carey took his sister to court over claims in her memoir, but the judge found a critical legal element completely absent from his case.
A New York judge dismissed the remaining defamation claims brought against Mariah Carey by her older brother, Morgan Carey, over passages in her 2020 memoir, ruling that he failed to show actual malice.
New York Supreme Court Justice Leslie A. Stroth tossed the lawsuit on Monday, October 19, according to reports by TMZ and Billboard. The ruling brings a decisive end to the multi-year legal battle over the singer’s bestselling book, The Meaning of Mariah Carey.
Why the judge tossed the case
In her decision, Justice Stroth concluded that Morgan Carey had not met the high legal standard required to sustain the action against his sister.
“The Court finds that Plaintiff has not sufficiently pleaded actual malice on the part of Defendant,” Justice Stroth wrote.
The judge noted that Morgan had argued the Grammy winner prioritized book sales over factual accuracy. However, she emphasized that he failed to back up those claims with evidence.
“Plaintiff has alleged that Defendant was more concerned with the ‘commercial viability’ of her memoir than verifying the truth of her statements, and that Defendant’s sources for such statements are anonymous and/or unverifiable. Notably, Plaintiff fails to provide any proof that Defendant made such statements with knowledge of their falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth,” the ruling stated.
According to RadarOnline, Justice Stroth also denied Morgan Carey’s request to introduce claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress, along with a proposed new defamation claim involving a YouTube documentary.
Years of family litigation
The feud began after Mariah Carey released her memoir in September 2020, co-written with Michaela Angela Davis and published by Andy Cohen Books and Macmillan. In March 2021, Morgan Carey filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court alleging defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
He took issue with passages in the book that described him as violent toward relatives, claimed he distributed cocaine, and alleged he spent time in prison.
The legal fight narrowed considerably in February 2022. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Barbara Jaffe dismissed all claims against the memoir’s publishers and dismissed most of the allegations against Carey herself, leaving only two claims intact concerning the passages about cocaine distribution and prison time.
Reactions and what comes next
Carey’s legal counsel welcomed the court’s complete dismissal of the action.
“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,” Carey’s attorney, John Rosenberg, said in a statement.
Rosenberg added: “Ms. Carey believes the importance of the Court’s decision goes well beyond her own interests in this particular litigation, as it confirms that authors must be afforded broad protection when they speak out on matters of public concern.”
Morgan Carey’s attorney, Richard Altman, confirmed that his client plans to challenge Monday’s ruling.
“We respectfully disagree with today’s decision as being inconsistent with prior rulings in the case,” Altman said.
While Altman confirmed the plan to file an appeal, it is not yet known when his legal team will formally submit the notice or which specific arguments they will present before the appellate division.
