Major update in Jay-Z's paternity case following long 10-year legal battle
William Morgan
Featured Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
A California district judge has made a major ruling in the lengthy paternity battle that rapper Jay-Z has fought for more than a decade, potentially signalling an end to the 'decadeslong harassment' faced by the billionaire music mogul.
A man in his early 30s, Rymir Satterthwaite, claimed for years to be Jay-Z's biological offspring from an alleged relationship with a woman named Wanda in the mid 1990s, who pursued the mogul through the courts before her untimely death from a terminal illness in 2019.
Rymir's godmother, Lillie Coley, then took up the paternity battle and continued to seek legal restitution against the singer, real name Shawn Carter, who started dating his now-wife Beyonce a few years after the alleged relationship with Satterthwaite's mom.
The dismissal of the court case 'with prejudice' on Tuesday, November 4, could see the 'Empire State of Mind' singer finally put the allegations to bed, but aspiring musician Satterthwaite and guardian Coley have pledged to carry on their fight.
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During the court hearing in the Central District of California, Coley said that Wanda Satterthwaite had pursued the rapper for almost two decades in various courts on the east coast in order to establish his paternity over Rymir.
The legal guardian sought compensatory damages from the billionaire mogul for alleged intentional emotional distress and fraud committed in the wake of the many previous dismissals of the paternity suit in different courts.
In the latest battle in a California court, Coley alleged that Jay-Z had surpressed evidence and 'material facts concerning his minimum contacts with the State of New Jersey,' where the case was thrown out after the judge decided it had been filed in the wrong state.
But after a back and forth with Coley and Carter's legal team in September over dismissing the case, the court backed Jay-Z without requiring an oral argument over the merits of the case.
The ruling, obtained by E!News, reads: "The Court has read and considered the Motion and concluded that it is suitable for decision without oral argument [...] The Court GRANTS the Motion and DISMISSES the Complaint without leave to amend."
This decision effectively bars Coley from filing any more cases against Carter. The music giant saw another major win in the lengthy paternity battle earlier this year when Satterthwaite dropped his separate paternity case, which means he will also be unable to bring his suit before the court again.
In her ruling, Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett stated that Coley's case was being dismissed in relation to the state's anti-SLAPP legislation, which were designed to protect individuals against 'meritless' and vexatious lawsuits. Coley initially looked to appeal the ruling on November 5, but she withdrew a day later.
Jay-Z has always strenuously denied the paternity claim at every turn, with his lawyers telling the court in July that 'the fabricated allegations and claims have been addressed—and rejected—in multiple other courts,' before slamming the 'decadeslong harassment' from the plaintiffs.
However, Rymir has previously promised to keep up his fight, albeit with a different strategy. "I have not stopped my fight," the aspiring musician said in July. "We got to step back and play chess, not checkers."