JAY-Z's Paternity Case Dismissed Following 10-Year Legal Battle

A judge in California has tossed out a paternity lawsuit that has haunted JAY-Z for a decade.

According to a report Page Six published on Wednesday, November 5, Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett of the Central District of California Court dismissed a paternity lawsuit with prejudice that was filed by paralegal Lillie Coley, who is the legal guardian of Rymir Satterthwaite. The legal complaint alleged that the Roc Nation founder was Satterthwaite's biological father. Coley also claimed Hov intentionally inflicted emotional distress and committed fraud after the original lawsuit, filed by Satterthwaite's late mother Wanda, was dismissed in 2012.

"The Court has read and considered the Motion and concluded that it is suitable for decision without oral argument," Judge Garnett wrote. "The Court GRANTS the Motion and DISMISSES the Complaint without leave to amend."

In the lawsuit, both Coley and Rymir Satterthwaite alleged that JAY-Z impregnated Wanda Satterthwaite in the 1990s. Wanda Satterthwaite originally filed her lawsuit for child support in New Jersey in 2010, but Coley took over for Satterthwaite after she became terminally ill. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2012 after a judge determined it was filed in the wrong state. Coley and Rymir refiled in 2014 but the case became public in 2015 after they claimed Hov lied in order to get out of taking a DNA test. According to E! News, Coley alleged that Hov suppressed evidence, stole records, and "negligently" concealed and misrepresented "material facts concerning his minimum contacts with the State of New Jersey." Wanda eventually passed away in 2016.

The legal battle continued for several years with several motions to dismiss and amend the legal complaint. Rymir Satterthwaite also filed his own federal paternity lawsuit against Hov in 2023, in which he repeated the same allegations and demanded a DNA test. However, Satterthwaite withdrew his lawsuit in July because there was a lot "going on behind closed doors." Meanwhile, JAY-Z maintained that he is not Satterthwaite's father.

"The fabricated allegations and claims have been addressed—and rejected—in multiple other courts," JAY-Z's attorneys wrote in July. They also claimed it was another part of Sattherthwaite's "decades-long harassment" against the rapper.

Judge Garnett's new ruling means Coley and Satterthwaite can no longer file the same lawsuit or request paternity tests from JAY-Z. After he pulled his lawsuit in July, Rymir vowed to continue the fight to prove JAY-Z is his dad.

“I have not stopped my fight,” Rymir said in a video he posted to Instagram. “We got to step back and play chess, not checkers.”