Mariah Carey has won a yearslong legal fight with her own brother. A judge has dismissed Morgan Carey's defamation lawsuit over his sister's 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, in its entirety, according to TMZ, which cited Billboard's report on the ruling.

Morgan Carey originally sued over passages in the memoir that he said falsely portrayed him as a cocaine dealer and as violent toward their family growing up. A New York judge tossed most of those claims back in 2022, allowing only two narrower claims — tied specifically to the drug-dealing allegations — to move forward, a dispute that was still winding through New York's courts as recently as 2024. Those were the claims that finally got thrown out this week.

No Proof of "Actual Malice"

The judge found that Morgan failed to show "actual malice" — legal shorthand for proving his sister knowingly lied about him, which is typically required in these kinds of suits. "He fails to provide any proof of it," the judge reportedly wrote.

"PLEASED THAT THE COURT RECOGNIZED HER MEMOIR ADDRESSES ISSUES OF PUBLIC INTEREST."

Mariah's attorney, John Rosenberg, said the singer was pleased the court recognized her memoir "addresses issues of public interest." Morgan's attorney told Billboard he plans to appeal.

The sibling feud dates back to the memoir's 2020 release, in which Carey wrote candidly about a turbulent childhood, including allegations of abuse within her family. Morgan and another sibling, Alison Carey, have both publicly disputed Mariah's version of their shared history over the years. This latest ruling closes the book — for now — on the courtroom chapter of that dispute, though an appeal could keep it alive well into 2027.