Jay-Z closed the book on a 10-year paternity battle in Los Angeles federal court by winning outright dismissal and then choosing not to pursue attorney fees against Rymir Satterthwaite, the man who claimed to be his son.
According to newly filed court records, the Hip-Hop mogul let a court-imposed deadline pass without requesting reimbursement for legal costs.
Earlier this week, the judge officially shut down the case, confirming that no further action would be taken and that the window to seek fees had expired.
The case was brought by paralegal Lillie Coley, the legal guardian and godmother of New Jersey resident Satterthwaite. Coley alleged that Jay-Z had avoided paternity testing for years and manipulated the legal system to dodge accountability.
Her complaint mirrored Satterthwaite’s long-standing claim that his late mother, Wanda, had a relationship with the rapper in the early 1990s.
They argued Wanda was underage at the time, which they said made the situation more serious. Before landing in California, the case had already bounced through New Jersey courts for years.
Wanda initially tried to bring a paternity suit there, but judges ruled the state didn’t have jurisdiction to compel Jay-Z to participate. Later filings by Coley and Satterthwaite accused New Jersey officials of shielding a high-profile defendant and mishandling their claims.
Earlier this year, Satterthwaite filed his own federal case, only to withdraw it with prejudice in July. Coley continued with her separate Los Angeles lawsuit, which Judge Garnett ultimately dismissed.
By mid-2025, the court had grown weary. A July 31 order gave Jay-Z 30 days to file for attorney fees or risk the case being closed for good. A new order confirmed that the billionaire had never filed that motion, and the court closed the matter.
Jay-Z’s legal team had previously argued the claims were part of a “decades long” pattern of harassment and emphasized that multiple courts had already rejected them.
Still, he declined to pursue a financial penalty against Satterthwaite, effectively sparing him from a potentially massive legal bill.
As for Rymir Satterthwaite, he seems to want to keep poking the bear and doesn’t seem to be getting the court’s message as he continues to blast Jay-Z and the legal system.
Excerpt:
