Diddy’s legal team denies rape allegation and calls for dismissal

On May 10, Sean “Diddy” Combs filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that he and two co-defendants, Harve Pierre, former president of Combs’ record label Bad Boy Entertainment, and an unidentified man, raped a 17-year-old. old girl in a New York recording studio in 2003. Combs’ attorneys argue that the lawsuit was filed too late to be considered under New York state law and want the lawsuit dismissed without prejudice “in order to preserve the “To protect Combs defendants from further reputational damage and before further party and judicial resources are wasted.”

As the Associated Press The request from Combs’ lawyers reportedly represents the latest installment in a legal saga in which Combs has become the subject of a criminal sex trafficking investigation as well as several similar lawsuits to the one filed by this anonymous party. According to the filing, Combs’ attorneys “categorically deny” the accuser’s version of events.

“Mr. Combs and his companies categorically deny plaintiff’s decades-long allegation against them, which has caused incalculable harm to their reputation and business condition, before any evidence has been presented,” the filing states. “Plaintiff cannot assert which ​​Day or time of year the alleged incident occurred, but miraculously remembers other salacious details, despite her supposedly incapacitated state.”

One of the lawyers for the plaintiff, who is currently remaining anonymous but will have to reveal her identity as the proceedings continue, told dem AP that the motion is a desperate attempt by Combs’ team to evade responsibility.

“At this point, no one should take anything ‘Diddy’ or his lawyers say seriously.” Michael J. Willemin said in a statement: “Today’s motion is just a desperate attempt by Combs to shirk responsibility for Ms. Doe’s allegations for gang rape and sexual assault. “It won’t work.”

The lawsuit Combs is facing is part of a wave of lawsuits filed under two different laws intended to give victims of sexual assault a chance to file a complaint after the statute of limitations has expired. The laws, New York State’s Adult Survivors Act and New York City’s Victims of Gender Motivated Violence Protection Law, both provide for suspension of the statute of limitations for sexual assault, but Combs’ team argues that the lawsuit arises under the provisions of state law was submitted too late to be considered timely.

The lawsuit, filed in December 2023 and amended in March 2024, alleges that Combs, Pierre and an unnamed man flew the then-Detroit 11th grader on a private jet and took her to a recording studio. It is also alleged that the teenager was given drugs until she lost her ability to consent. At that point, the lawsuit says, the men took turns raping her.

The Combs team’s filing also challenges a bold trigger warning included in the lawsuit, which they say is “irrelevant” and “calculated” to “draw attention to the salacious and depraved allegations.”

Combs’ latest round of legal troubles began when his former artist and girlfriend Cassandra Ventura, known professionally as Cassie, filed a lawsuit alleging that Combs used a combination of drugs and physical abuse to control the singer. The lawsuit, which was settled a day after it was filed, also included allegations that Combs forcibly entered her home and raped her in 2018.

As BLACK COMPANY As reported, Ventura said in a statement that her lawsuit will benefit other women who face abuse and violence in their relationships. “After years of silence and darkness, I am finally ready to tell my story and speak up for myself and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships.”

RELATED CONTENT: Diddy files dismissal in sexual assault lawsuit, claiming there was no law back then