Jay-Z’s decade-long paternity battle officially ends after judge dismisses case

This week, a judge dismissed Rymir Satterthwaite’s paternity lawsuit against Jay-Z with prejudice, meaning it can’t be refiled.

After nearly a decade of legal back-and-forth, Jay-Z’s paternity case has officially been laid to rest.

This week, the paternity lawsuit filed by Rymir Satterthwaite, who claims to be the rapper’s son, was reportedly dismissed by a judge with prejudice, meaning that the case cannot be refiled. According to Page Six, the ruling granted Jay-Z’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed earlier this year by Satterthwaite’s former legal guardian and paralegal, Lillie Coley.

The decision marks the latest chapter, and possibly the final one, in a years-long legal battle between Satterthwaite and the Roc Nation founder. Over the years, the 30-year-old has repeatedly maintained that Jay-Z is his biological father, particularly after his mother, Wanda Satterthwaite, passed away. His persistent claims have led to a string of court filings and motions, as he sought to compel the music mogul to take a paternity test.

“What began in the mid-1990s as Defendant’s music career soared to prominence quickly evolved into a scorched-earth effort to bury a personal truth: that he fathered a child with a 16-year-old girl [Wanda Satterthwaite] who is now deceased,” Satterthwaite’s previous lawsuit outlined, claiming that the rapper has “neither affirmatively acknowledged nor legally denied his parental relationship with Rymir.”

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Serilyn Peace Garnett also denied a restraining order Coley had sought to block any alleged retaliation from Jay-Z’s camp. This decision effectively cleared the way for the rapper to pursue penalties against her for what his team describes as “decades-long harassment.”

“The fabricated allegations and claims have been addressed—and rejected—in multiple other courts,” the rapper’s legal team previously stated in legal documents. “And [the]Plaintiff’s continued harassment of Defendant and disregard of those orders has already resulted in a contempt order.”

In July, Satterthwaite announced that he withdrew one case against the music mogul, but claimed that he is still fighting for justice and reputational and emotional distress damages from Jay-Z, whom he claims “committed fraud upon multiple courts, misrepresented facts, interfered with procedural due process and exploited legal systems,” in an effort to silence him. 

“I did withdraw my case,” Satterthwaite revealed in an Instagram video update. “It’s for a reason, y’all. It’s not because I’m stopping or am not going to refile it. [There’s] just a lot going on behind closed doors. But that’s only one case that we withdrew. I have not stopped my fight.”

At the time, Satterthwaite didn’t specify which case he’d dropped. Now, with this latest dismissal on the books, it remains to be seen whether this story is truly over.