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A New York judge recently handed Mariah Carey a significant victory in the long-running defamation lawsuit filed by her estranged brother, Morgan Carey.
On Friday, April 24, 2026, the court dismissed Morgan Carey’s attempt to secure a default judgment against the singer.
He had argued that her legal response to his complaint was invalid because she did not "verify" it under oath, but the judge ruled that no such requirement existed for her answer, allowing the case to proceed on Mariah Carey's terms.
The lawsuit centers on the 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, in which Mariah Carey describes her brother as a violent individual and alleges he was involved in the drug trade during the 1980s.
While a judge previously dismissed the majority of the claims in 2022, two specific passages regarding the "drug dealer" allegations remain the focus of the litigation.
Mariah Carey has consistently maintained that the book reflects her personal truth and her experiences growing up in a high-conflict household.
The legal battle between Mariah Carey and Morgan Carey highlights the deep-seated divisions within the Carey family.
Morgan Carey claims that the descriptions provided by Mariah Carey have caused him severe emotional distress and irreparable damage to his reputation.
He insists that the violent altercations mentioned in the book—including one where Mariah Carey claims he slammed their mother into a wall—never occurred.
Despite these serious allegations, Mariah Carey appears unfazed by the legal pressure.
She recently made headlines for lighthearted moments, such as crashing her son Moroccan Cannon's Twitch stream, showing that she remains focused on her family and her career.
Legal experts suggest that by successfully fighting the default judgment, Mariah Carey has put herself in a stronger position to potentially have the remaining claims tossed out before a full trial.
