Mariah Carey wants her brother to pay for the legal costs of fighting his defamation lawsuit against her, new court papers show. The pop star's older brother, Morgan Carey, sued her last year, claiming she falsely portrayed him as violent when they were growing up in her tell-all memoir "The Meaning of Mariah Carey".
Now, the "Fantasy" singer has brought a counterclaim against her 62-year-old sibling seeking the cost of legal fees, according to papers her lawyers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday. The 52-year old "Always Be My Baby" crooner says she is likely to win the case because the parts of her book he claims are libelous "are true or substantially true", the filing claims.
And the statements about Morgan weren't published by Carey "with actual malice" - a legal standard that must be proved in his case.
Morgan responded later Wednesday asking a judge to reject Carey's counterclaim papers on the grounds that both Carey and her lawyers allegedly didn't sign a verification swearing that everything in their filing was true. Verifications are normally attached at the end of lawsuits, affidavits and certain other legal documents.
Last month, Justice Barbara Jaffe ruled that Mariah must face Morgan's two remaining claims after the judge tossed out 14 of the suit's other claims, finding that Carey's statements were opinions and exaggerations - which don't rise to the level of defamation.
The remaining claims against the superstar are over her accusations that Morgan sold cocaine, beat up their mom, once hired a hitman and was a drunkard. Lawyers on both sides declined to comment.
(Page Six)
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