Court documents suggest Morgan Carey's claim against Mariah might be headed to settlement
Attorneys agree to a delay in filing of responses to brother Morgan's claim for alleged defamation in Mariah's Carey's 2020 tell all memoir
By David Baker
Posted Tuesday, May 11, 2021
Morgan Carey’s lawsuit against his sister Mariah Carey and her publishers over her memoir continues with indications that the claim against the publishers and the co-writer of the book may be dismissed, leaving Mariah Carey as the only defendant.
In March, Morgan Carey filed a complaint - the document that starts a lawsuit - alleging that his reputation has been damaged by statements in Mariah Carey’s book “The Meaning of Mariah Carey”, which was published in September 2020.
Along with Mariah Carey, the claim also names as defendants Macmillan Publishing Group, Andy Cohen Books, and Michaela Angela Davis, who wrote the words at Mariah Carey’s direction.
Once a complaint is served, a defendant normally has 20 days (a little longer in some circumstances) to respond. That response is usually in the form of what’s called an answer, which contains numbered responses to each of the numbered paragraphs in the complaint.
An answer usually provides little information about the case; most responses either admit an indisputable allegation (the date the book was published, for example); deny an allegation; or say “the answering defendant lacks sufficient knowledge to admit or deny the allegation.”
However, in this case, none of the defendants’ attorneys have served an answer. Instead, after acknowledging receipt of the complaint, they have agreed in a document called a stipulation to extend the deadline, in Mariah Carey’s case, until May 14, and in the case against the publishers and the co-writer, until May 28.
This suggests two things: First, that a publishing agreement states that Mariah Carey, not the publishers and the co-writer, will be responsible for any claims arising from statements in the book - a possibility supported by a sentence in the stipulation that says the defendants may ask the court to dismiss the complaint without them filing an answer.
Such an agreement would explain the publishers’ willingness to publish obviously controversial statements while presumably knowing that the target of Mariah Carey’s vicious attacks would not become aware of the explosive claims until stories about them appeared in the media just before the book was published.
So Mariah Carey may soon be the only defendant. Which leads to the second explanation for the delay; that settlement negotiations are taking place.
Back in February, an attorney then considering taking Alison Carey’s case was told by one of Mariah Carey’s attorneys that Mariah Carey “would rather pay thousands of dollars to fight Alison’s claim than give Alison five dollars.”
That’s tough talk, meant to scare off plaintiffs’ lawyers who just want to collect their 40 percent plus expenses without a long, expensive legal battle. But the reality may be very different. It’s not the cost Mariah has to worry about; it’s the public exposure involved in defending a claim - having to answer detailed questions under oath during depositions (which, in Alison’s claim, given statements in the book, some of which could be about Mariah Carey’s knowledge of the abuse inflicted on Alison as a child.)
Deposition transcripts or parts of them can become public as exhibits attached to other documents filed in a case. They also become part of the court record when a case is about to go to trial. A request can be made for a transcript to be made confidential, but anyone can be present at depositions unless a protective order is obtained, which requires convincing evidence that the person’s presence would cause “serious harm.”
That, and having to respond to detailed written questions under oath is a big incentive to settle.
And Mariah Carey has previously tried to avoid giving a deposition. In one of several lawsuits filed against her by former employees she claimed that being deposed in a law office would put her at risk of catching COVID-19. Then, when the lawyers offered to have her appear via video from her home she claimed that even that was too risky because she could still catch the virus from the video camera operator required by the rules to be there to verify the event.
That excuse won’t work now; items she posted on Twitter and Instagram in early April show her getting her second shot of a COVID vaccine. For Mariah Carey, no event is too trivial for a call to the press or posts on social media.
So now, settle or fight, this spoilt multimillionaire is about to face the consequences of her spiteful, unnecessary attacks on her two less fortunate siblings.
——
As noted above, the deadline for Mariah Carey’s initial response to her brother’s claim is this Friday, May 14. Check back here after that date for details.
