Mariah Carey wins dismissal of brother’s memoir defamation lawsuit

A New York judge has dismissed the remaining defamation claims brought by Morgan Carey against his sister, Mariah Carey, over her 2020 memoir, *The Meaning of Mariah Carey*. Rolling Stone and TheWrap, which say they obtained Monday’s ruling, report that Justice Leslie A. Stroth found he had not sufficiently pleaded that she made the disputed statements knowing they were false or with reckless disregard for the truth. The ruling ends his claims at this stage; it does not establish that the book’s account was true. [2] [3]

Morgan sued in 2021, saying passages that portrayed him as violent and linked him to drug dealing had harmed his reputation. He put his alleged losses at more than $20 million. Earlier court decisions had dismissed claims against the book’s publishers but left some claims against Mariah Carey in place. In December 2025, Stroth allowed Morgan to amend parts of his complaint. [2] [5]

Mariah Carey’s lawyer, John Rosenberg, welcomed the dismissal. Morgan Carey’s lawyer, Richard Altman, told Rolling Stone he disagreed with the decision and intended to appeal. [2]