Mariah Carey has secured a major legal victory after a New York judge dismissed the remaining claims in a $20 million defamation lawsuit filed by her older brother, Morgan Carey, over statements in her bestselling memoir. The ruling, issued Monday, October 19, 2026, brings a significant development in a legal dispute that began in 2021.
The lawsuit centered on Carey’s 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, in which the Grammy-winning singer recounted difficult experiences from her childhood and complicated family relationships. Morgan Carey argued that certain passages damaged his reputation by portraying him as violent and linking him to alleged cocaine trafficking and imprisonment.
In her decision, New York Supreme Court Justice Leslie A. Stroth determined that Morgan had not sufficiently established “actual malice,” a legal standard requiring evidence that a statement was published with knowledge of its falsity or reckless disregard for the truth. The judge found that his allegations did not provide sufficient proof that Mariah knowingly published false statements or recklessly ignored whether they were true.
The case had already been narrowed through earlier court proceedings, with most of Morgan’s original claims dismissed in 2022. Two claims relating to alleged drug dealing and references to the prison system remained at the center of the latest dispute.
Mariah’s attorney, John Rosenberg, welcomed the ruling, saying the singer was pleased that the court recognized the memoir addressed matters of public interest and dismissed the remaining defamation claims. He also emphasized the importance of protecting authors who discuss significant personal and public issues.
Morgan Carey’s attorney, Richard Altman, disputed the decision and said he intended to appeal, leaving open the possibility of further legal proceedings. The dismissal does not establish that every disputed passage in the memoir was true; it means Morgan failed to meet the legal requirements for his remaining claims at this stage.
After five years of litigation, the ruling marks a significant legal win for Mariah Carey as the dispute over her deeply personal memoir reaches another turning point.
