LOS ANGELES – Rap icon and business mogul Jay-Z has finally put an end to a long-running paternity dispute after a federal judge in California permanently dismissed the case this week, clearing his name once and for all.
The ruling, handed down on Wednesday by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice — meaning it cannot be refiled or reopened in the future. The court determined that the matter required no further oral argument, effectively closing the case.
“The Court has read and considered the motion and concluded that it is suitable for decision without oral argument,” the judge stated in the official order.
The lawsuit was brought forward by Lillie Coley, who identified herself as the godmother and legal guardian of Rymir Satterthwaite, a man in his early 30s who has for years claimed that Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, is his biological father. Coley alleged that the rapper fathered Satterthwaite in the mid-1990s during an alleged relationship with Wanda Satterthwaite, who died in 2019.
Court documents indicate that Satterthwaite was born in July 1993. A 2010 paternity test excluded Wanda’s then-boyfriend, Robert Graves, as the biological father. Following that, Coley and Satterthwaite made multiple unsuccessful attempts to compel Jay-Z to undergo DNA testing in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania courts.
In an interview with the Daily Mail last December, Satterthwaite said his motivation was not financial but personal clarity.
“I really want to resolve this and get this matter done. I don’t want any money. I just want the truth,” he said.
Jay-Z has consistently denied the paternity allegations. His legal team described the repeated filings as a “decades-long campaign of harassment,” and the latest court ruling appears to have fully vindicated their stance.
The judge also ruled that Jay-Z may seek reimbursement of legal costs incurred during the years-long litigation.
The dismissal marks the definitive conclusion of a case that has followed the 54-year-old artist and billionaire businessman for more than a decade, allowing him to move forward without the shadow of the lingering paternity dispute.
