A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has denied Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner's motion to seal court documents related to a confidential 2023 settlement agreement with musician Ray J, according to court records filed this week.
The ruling represents a significant setback for the reality television personalities, who argued that public disclosure of the settlement terms would cause irreparable harm to their families and violate the confidentiality provisions both parties had agreed to maintain.
In his decision, the judge determined that Kardashian and Jenner failed to present sufficient evidence demonstrating that making the agreement public would cause them actual harm. The court has ordered both parties to file unredacted versions of the settlement documents, which will become part of the public record.
The dispute stems from an October 2025 lawsuit filed by Kardashian and Jenner against Ray J, alleging defamation after the musician publicly claimed the mother and daughter were under federal investigation. Both Kardashian and Jenner have denied those allegations.
Ray J responded with a countersuit, alleging that Kardashian and Jenner breached the confidential 2023 settlement agreement by discussing the subject matter during an episode of their Hulu reality series. According to court filings, the musician claims he received a payment to maintain permanent silence regarding certain matters, and that the Kardashian family violated those terms through their on-air discussion.
Legal representatives for Kardashian and Jenner argued in their motion that the agreement addressed highly sensitive personal matters that all parties explicitly agreed to keep confidential in order to protect their respective families from public scrutiny.
"The agreement resolved highly sensitive matters that the parties explicitly agreed to keep confidential in order to protect their families from public disclosure and respect these sensitive matters," attorneys for the reality television figures stated in court documents.
Ray J's legal team opposed the sealing request, arguing that the public has a legitimate interest in understanding the terms of the agreement given that it has become central to ongoing litigation between the parties. The judge sided with this argument in his ruling.
The case underscores the tension between privacy interests and public disclosure requirements in civil litigation, particularly when high-profile individuals seek to shield settlement agreements from public view. California courts generally presume that court records should remain accessible to the public unless compelling reasons exist to seal them.
The Kardashian family has not publicly confirmed specific financial terms of the 2023 settlement. The legal proceedings continue in Los Angeles Superior Court, where both the defamation claims and breach of contract allegations remain pending.