Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing a lawsuit alleging that he and two co-defendants raped a 17-year-old girl in a New York recording studio in 2003. In response, his legal team has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, calling it a “false and hideous claim” that was filed too late under the law. The lawsuit was filed in December and amended in March by a woman who now lives in Canada. She claims that she was given drugs and alcohol until she was incapable of consenting to sex, at which point she was raped by Pierre, Combs, and another man.
The defense filing is asking for the case to be dismissed with prejudice to protect the reputation of the Combs defendants and to prevent further resources from being wasted. One of the plaintiff’s attorneys responded by calling the motion a desperate attempt by Combs to avoid accountability for the allegations. The arguments at this stage are procedural rather than factual, with Combs’ legal team arguing that the suit was filed too late under New York City’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law.
The lawsuit was one of over 3,700 legal claims filed under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which temporarily suspended certain legal deadlines to allow sexual assault victims to sue over abuse that occurred years ago. Combs’ motion argues that the city law is preempted by the state law, which means the lawsuit needed to be filed by August 2021 to be considered timely. The amended version of the lawsuit filed in March attempted to address some of these issues, but Combs’ attorneys argue that it fell short. The judge has ruled that the woman will need to reveal her name if the lawsuit proceeds after this challenge.
The public airing of allegations against Combs began with a lawsuit filed by his former protege and girlfriend, Cassie, in November. The lawsuit contained allegations of beatings, rape, and other abuse between 2005 and 2018. Although the lawsuit was settled the day after it was filed, the allegations sparked further lawsuits against Combs. In March, Homeland Security Investigations served search warrants on his homes in Los Angeles and Miami as part of a sex-trafficking investigation. Combs has not been charged in connection with the investigation. Last month, Combs filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Joi Dickerson, who alleged that he drugged and sexually assaulted her when she was a 19-year-old college student.
