Jay-Z has asked a California appeals court to review its decision to dismiss his extortion and defamation lawsuit against Texas attorney Tony Buzbee, after the woman at the center of the original sexual assault case recanted her claims against the rapper.The latest petition comes after Jane Doe issued a written affidavit claiming she never met or communicated with Jay-Z and that her accusations against him were false. The rapper's lawyers are now referring to the declaration as "explosive new evidence" that justifies reopening the case.When did Jay-Z sue Tony Buzbee for extortion?Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, sued Buzbee and his law firm after the attorney filed a lawsuit in December 2024 accusing the rapper and Sean "Diddy" Combs of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.Jay-Z denied the accusations, describing the situation as an alleged "blackmail attempt." He later filed extortion and defamation charges against Buzbee.The sexual assault complaint was ultimately dismissed with prejudice in February 2025. The rapper later pursued separate legal proceedings against Buzbee and other attorneys.Why is Jay-Z asking the court to revive the case?On September 9, 2026, California's Second District Court of Appeal affirmed an earlier Superior Court ruling that had dismissed/struck Jay-Z's claims under the state's anti-SLAPP law.According to the given reports, the appellate panel determined that the lower court rightly excluded recordings gathered by private investigators and applied California's anti-SLAPP law. The court also found that the existing evidence failed to establish that Buzbee deliberately propagated a false accusation or operated with reckless disregard for the truth.The panel also determined that demand letters made prior to lawsuits are part of usual litigation and did not constitute extortion based on the evidence presented.The rapper's latest petition was filed on September 24, just days after Jane Doe filed a new declaration in a different federal case. His defenders claim that the new declaration alters the evidentiary picture and should at least allow for limited discovery.The music mogul’s lawyers said the declaration gives grounds for the court to reconsider its ruling:“Justice requires that this court consider this explosive new evidence.”What did Jane Doe say in her new declaration?Jane Doe stated in her declaration filed on September 24 that she had never met or spoken with Jay-Z, and that her claim identifying him was false.Her new attorney, James Blair Newman Jr., stated that his client believes she was a victim of sexual assault but was "entirely mistaken" in identifying the rapper. He stated that she had sincerely and unconditionally apologized to Jay-Z and his family.Doe also stated that she began questioning parts of her account before abandoning the lawsuit, which was initially filed against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in October 2024 before Jay-Z was added as a defendant in December 2024, and which was dismissed with prejudice in February 2025.She has also denied receiving a payment from Jay-Z or his representatives in exchange for her recantation.The music mogul's attorneys contend that the new declaration may provide evidence to support their allegations against Buzbee and his firm, and they request that the case be sent back to the lower court for limited discovery.Tony Buzbee disputes the new accountBuzbee and his attorneys have challenged Doe's recantation.Buzbee previously told Rolling Stone that Doe made the same charges to other lawyers before meeting with him. His legal team has also described the latest declaration as "bought-and-paid-for," while the reports provided state that the filing did not provide evidence that Doe was paid.Buzbee's counsel has asked a federal judge to delete Doe's most recent declaration from the record. Alternatively, they want the court to consider her earlier sworn statement, in which she reiterated her original charges despite abandoning the February 25 lawsuit.Buzbee has denied wrongdoing.What happens next in Jay-Z's legal battle?The music mogul is asking the California appeals court to reconsider its September decision and, at the very least, allow limited discovery into his claims against Buzbee.His separate federal case against Buzbee and the other attorneys is still ongoing. The rapper has dropped the lawsuit against Doe, but he is still suing her former attorneys for malicious prosecution and civil conspiracy.The dispute over the new declaration is still in progress. Doe's initial charges against Jay-Z were rejected by the rapper from the start, and her most recent sworn statement claims she never met him and that the allegation naming him was untrue. The courts have not made a decision determining whether either account was true.Stay tuned to Soap Central for more information.