Judge Dismisses Morgan Carey’s Defamation Claims

A New York judge dismissed Morgan Carey’s remaining defamation claims against his sister, singer Mariah Carey, ruling that he had not sufficiently pleaded actual malice in her memoir’s statements about him. Justice Leslie A. Stroth issued the ruling on October 19, ending the claims over passages in The Meaning of Mariah Carey that Morgan Carey said damaged his reputation. He had alleged that the memoir portrayed him as violent and suggested he had sold cocaine. His lawsuit sought more than $20 million in damages, according to reports of the case. The judge found Morgan Carey had not provided proof that Mariah Carey knowingly made false statements or acted with reckless disregard for their truth. Allegations that she harbored ill will toward him did not satisfy the actual-malice standard, the ruling said. The legal standard requires a public-figure plaintiff to show that a challenged statement was made knowing it was false or with reckless disregard for whether it was true. Morgan Carey’s lawyer, Richard Altman, said he disagreed with the decision and intends to appeal soon. The reports describe an intention to appeal, not a filed appeal or an appellate decision. Mariah Carey’s...