Mariah Carey has won the dismissal of her brother's long-running defamation suit over her 2020 memoir. A New York judge on Monday threw out Morgan Carey's $20 million lawsuit over The Meaning of Mariah Carey, ending, subject to an appeal, a five-year fight.
Morgan sued in 2021 over passages that he said falsely portrayed him as violent and a drug dealer. The judge, named by Billboard and TMZ as Leslie A.
Stroth, found that Morgan failed to show "actual malice", the standard public figures must meet in New York, meaning the writer knew a statement was false or recklessly disregarded the truth. She rejected his argument that Carey cared more about book sales than accuracy or relied on anonymous sources, and said he offered no proof that she knew her statements were false.
In 2022, Judge Barbara Jaffe dismissed many of Morgan's claims but allowed two to continue. One was about alleged cocaine distribution in the 1980s, and the other about his having "been in the system".
Morgan later amended his complaint. He has said the memoir "ruined" him and left him unable to find steady work.
Carey's attorney, John Rosenberg, said she is "gratified that the Court recognised that her memoir addresses significant issues of public interest and dismissed her brother's defamation claims in their entirety". Morgan's attorney said he plans to appeal.
Their sister, Alison, filed a separate defamation suit in 2020 over the memoir, which was never pursued. Legal experts note that defamation cases involving public figures in the United States face a remarkably high legal threshold.
Proving actual malice requires clear and convincing evidence that a publisher acted with reckless disregard. The conclusion of this preliminary chapter brings a measure of relief to the celebrated pop icon, who has consistently maintained the integrity of her published autobiography.
As the legal teams review the verdict, future appellate proceedings remain a possibility, though the dismissal stands firmly in place for now.