Mariah Carey Brother Lawsuit Dismissed: Morgan Carey Appeal
A New York judge on Monday dismissed the remaining defamation claims in Morgan Carey's lawsuit against his sister, Mariah Carey, ending for now a five-year fight over her 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey. Justice Leslie A. Stroth ruled that Morgan "has not sufficiently pleaded actual malice," Rolling Stone and Billboard reported. His lawyer says he will appeal.
What the judge found
Because Mariah is a public figure, New York law required Morgan to show actual malice: that she knowingly made false statements or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. The judge found he offered no proof she knew her statements were false, and held that alleging ill will toward him was not enough. Morgan had argued that Mariah put the memoir's commercial value ahead of checking its contents and leaned on unverifiable sources.
Five years in court
Morgan sued in March 2021, seeking $20 million, over passages that said he sold cocaine, had been in the system and was violent during their childhood. In February 2022, Justice Barbara Jaffe threw out most of those claims. Two survived: the cocaine passage and one implying he had served prison time. Monday's ruling removed those as well.
Mariah's lawyer, John Rosenberg, told Billboard she was "gratified" that the court recognized the memoir addresses significant issues of public interest. Morgan's lawyer, Richard Altman, told Billboard the team respectfully disagrees. He argues the ruling conflicts with earlier decisions in the case that let parts of it go forward.
Confirmed and not yet confirmed
Confirmed: the dismissal on Oct. 19, the actual-malice ground, and Morgan's lawyer saying he will appeal.
Not yet confirmed: whether an appeal has been filed. None had been reported as of Tuesday morning.
Altman said the appeal would come "very soon."
