Jay-Z's paternity case, involving Rymir Satterthwaite and his former legal guardian, Lillie Coley, has been dismissed after a decade-long legal battle.
This chapter of Jay-Z's life is officially coming to an end. His previous legal guardian Lillie Coley's case was withdrawn by the Central District of California Court on November 4, three months after Rymir Satterthwaite, who claimed the "Empire State of Mind" rapper was his true father, dropped his federal lawsuit against Jay-Z.
At the most recent legal dispute, Coley, who took guardianship of Satterthwaite in 2011 after his mother Wanda Satterthwaite passed away, sued Roc Nation founder Shawn Carter for compensatory damages and restitution in May, alleging that, in the wake of previous terminations, Jay-Z had purposefully caused emotional distress and committed fraud.
Coley, who went on Wanda's June 2010 lawsuit in New Jersey on Satterthwaite's behalf before it was withdrawn in August 2012 due to the lawsuit is incorrect state, made a number of accusations against Jay-Z, including sealing records, suppressing evidence, and "negligently" hiding and misrepresenting "material facts concerning his minimum contacts with the State of New Jersey."
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In the Nov. 4 verdict, the judge sided with the "99 Problems" rapper, who had been accused of fathering Satterthwaite with the late Wanda Satterthwaite, after a back-and-forth of requests to dismiss and amend in September.
"The Court has read and considered the Motion and concluded that it is suitable for decision without oral argument," Coley was named plaintiff in the order that decided the motion that news outlets had obtained. "The Court GRANTS the Motion and DISMISSES the Complaint without leave to amend."
Coley will be unable to resubmit her cases against the rap mogul as a result of the court's ruling. Satterthwaite is also unable to refile because he dismissed his federal paternity lawsuit against Jay-Z with prejudice in July.
The court agrees that the action can be dismissed in accordance with California's anti-SLAPP statute, according to Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett's decision dismissing Coley's case.
According to the judgment, the statute is intended to "allow early dismissal of meritless First Amendment cases aimed at chilling expression through costly, time-consuming litigation."
"Any written or oral statement or writing made before a judicial proceeding" "made in connection with an issue under consideration or review by a judicial body" are examples of the kinds of free speech that allow defendants to file a "special motion to strike" in a lawsuit.
Coley's "claims arise from a protected act because each and every one" were based on court rulings or the Roc Nation founder's "statements and writings made in prior civil litigation," according to the "99 Problems" rapper, who has a 13-year-old son named Blue Ivy Carter and an 8-year-old twin named Rumi and Sir with wife Beyoncé.
Judge Garnett went on to say, "The Court agrees."
The document stated that because Coley's claims are "premised on written and oral statements made during litigation, as well as conduct in furtherance of these statements, they fall within the protections of the anti-SLAPP statute."
Despite Coley's "detailed responses to most of the legal arguments raised in the Motion," Judge Garnett noted that she failed to "specifically address the anti-SLAPP motion."
Coley and Jay-Z representatives have been contacted by news outlets for comment, but they have not responded as of yet.
According to records retrieved by media outlets, Coley decided to drop the appeal the day after she first filed on November 5th.
In a July court document that news outlets were able to receive, Jay-Z's lawyers sharply criticized the allegations made in Satterthwaite's filing, adamantly denying that he is Satterthwaite's father.
"The fabricated allegations and claims have been addressed—and rejected—in multiple other courts," as per to the filings, Satterthwaite's federal case was "just the latest" in what his legal team described as "decadeslong harassment."
Satterthwaite reiterated his intention to pursue his paternity dispute against Jay-Z even though he had withdrawn the case.
"I have not stopped my fight," in a July Instagram video, the budding musician shared. "We got to step back and play chess, not checkers."
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