Overview
- In late May 2026 Jay-Z filed an amended federal complaint alleging attorney Tony Buzbee and his team invented a death threat told to an anonymous accuser to induce her to drop a now-dismissed suit.
- The filing says attorney David Fortney told the accuser that Jay-Z had threatened to kill her and that claim is described as a deliberate falsehood meant to end the case quickly.
- Jay-Z’s team points to evidence that Buzbee used co-counsel Antigone Curis’s ECF login to file in the Southern District of New York across more than 20 cases, and that a judge ordered proof of SDNY admission which Buzbee could not produce.
- The amended complaint adds a New York Judiciary Law Section 487 claim seeking treble damages and alleges Jay-Z lost about $190 million in income and other harms from the accusations.
- The case remains active with Buzbee denying the allegations, initial disclosures due June 3, 2026, and discovery scheduled through December 31, 2026, leaving open possible sanctions, disciplinary proceedings, and financial exposure.