Jay-Z has secured a significant legal win after a California court dismissed long-standing paternity claims linked to Rymir Satterthwaite and awarded the rapper Sh16 million ($119,235.45) in legal fees.
The case revolved around allegations that the 25-time Grammy winner fathered Rymir Satterthwaite in the mid-1990s with Wanda Satterthwaite, who is now deceased.
The complaint was filed by Lillie Coley, described as Rymir’s “godmother and legal guardian.”
In November, a California judge approved Jay-Z’s motion to dismiss the complaint.
According to All HipHop, a federal judge also ordered Coley to pay Jay-Z’s attorney fees, totaling Sh16 million ($119,235.45). The court cited California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which protects defendants from abusive lawsuits intended to harass or intimidate. The judge ruled that Coley “shall take nothing” from the rapper.
This ruling follows Coley’s request for an emergency restraining order after Jay-Z’s attorneys indicated plans to seek court sanctions over what they described as decades of harassment.
The court dismissed Coley’s lawsuit with prejudice in 2025, clearing the way for Jay-Z’s legal team to pursue financial penalties.
Satterthwaite, now 31, claims Jay-Z had a sexual relationship with his late mother in the 1990s, asserting she was 16 at the time while he was 22.
He says he has filed multiple paternity suits over the years, all of which were dismissed.
Court records indicate that in 2022, a New Jersey judge barred Coley and Satterthwaite from filing further lawsuits in that state without prior approval, citing repeated failed attempts to litigate the paternity claims.
Throughout the legal battles, Jay-Z has consistently denied the allegations and blocked efforts to compel him to provide DNA evidence.