Current:Home > reviewsSean 'Diddy' Combs files motion to dismiss sex trafficking claim in sexual assault lawsuit -CapitalCourse
Sean 'Diddy' Combs files motion to dismiss sex trafficking claim in sexual assault lawsuit
View
Date:2025-04-13 21:25:09
Sean "Diddy" Combs is firing back.
On Friday, Diddy's legal team filed a motion to dismiss some of the claims from a lawsuit filed by Joi Dickerson-Neal in November, accusing the music mogul of drugging and raping her as a then-college student in 1991.
His legal team is arguing that some of the claims were brought under laws that didn't exist and against companies that were not formed at the time of the alleged incident, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY.
USA TODAY has reached out to Dickerson-Neal's lawyers for comment.
Dickerson-Neal filed her complaint in November in Manhattan Supreme Court, a day before the New York State Adult Survivors Act expiration date, and alleged she was drugged, sexually assaulted and abused by Combs, and was the victim of "revenge porn," according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY.
Diddy's lawyer, Jonathan D. Davis, argues the ASA does not permit Dickerson-Neal to "revive claims under statutes that did not exist," including her claims of sex trafficking and revenge porn.
The new filing later states that Bad Boy Entertainment, Bad Boy Records and Combs Enterprises — also listed as defendants in the suit — didn't exist when the incident allegedly occurred and "no allegations of wrongdoing are pled against them," concluding that Dickerson-Neal's claims against the companies "fail as a matter of law."
Sean 'Diddy' Combsaccused of 1991 sexual assault of college student in lawsuit
Combs has denied Dickerson-Neal's allegations, claiming the incident was made up and a "money grab."
While on a school break for the holidays in January 1991, Dickerson-Neal − who was a college student at Syracuse University at the time − "reluctantly agreed" to dinner with Combs, the suit said. "During their date, Combs had intentionally drugged (Dickerson-Neal), resulting in her being in a physical state where she could not independently stand or walk," the suit alleges. Combs allegedly spiked her drink when Dickerson-Neal left it unattended to use the restroom, the suit read.
In Dickerson-Neal's filing last year, she claimed Combs videotaped the 1991 assault and distributed the tape to others in the music industry. This caused "severe harm to Ms. Dickerson-Neal's reputation, career prospects, and emotional well-being," Dickerson-Neal's attorney, Jonathan Goldhirsch, said in a news release sent to USA TODAY at the time.
Dickerson has demanded a trial by jury.
Diddy's houseswere raided by law enforcement: What does this mean for the music mogul?
Diddy is being investigated by multiple agencies for alleged sex trafficking and sexual assault. Homeland Security Investigations agents raided Combs' Los Angeles home last month, according to Rolling Stone and local Los Angeles news station Fox 11. Agents also searched Combs' Miami residence, Rolling Stone, NBC News and The Associated Press reported.
The Bad Boy Records founder is facing multiple lawsuits filed in recent months claiming the music mogul raped or sexually assaulted several alleged victims over the past few decades. Combs has denied all accusations against him.
Contributing: Pamela Avila and Naledi Ushe
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.
veryGood! (4185)
Related
- Bodycam footage shows high
- Israel-Hamas war will go on for many more months, Netanyahu says
- A boozy banana drink in Uganda is under threat as authorities move to restrict home brewers
- Taylor Swift duplicates Travis Kelce's jacket for New Year's Eve Chiefs vs. Bengals game
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- Ethiopia and a breakaway Somali region sign a deal giving Ethiopia access to the sea, leaders say
- Fire at bar during New Year's Eve party kills 1, severely injures more than 20 others
- 4 ways AI can help with climate change, from detecting methane to preventing fires
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Golden Knights dress as Elvis, Kraken go fishing for Winter Classic outfits
Ranking
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Haliburton gets help from Indiana’s reserves as Pacers win 122-113, end Bucks’ home win streak
- Is Social Security income taxable by the IRS? Here's what you might owe on your benefits
- Driver fleeing police strikes 8 people near Times Square on New Year's Day, police say
- The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
- Venezuela says troops will stay deployed until British military vessel leaves waters off Guyana
- Hail and Farewell: A tribute to those we lost in 2023
- Ian Ziering details 'unsettling confrontation' with bikers on New Year's Eve that led to attack
Recommendation
Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
Finland and Sweden set this winter’s cold records as temperature plummets below minus 40
Michigan vs. Alabama Rose Bowl highlights, score: Wolverines down Alabama in OT thriller
4 dead, 2 in critical condition after Michigan house explosion
Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
Joey Daccord posts second career shutout as Seattle topples Vegas 3-0 in Winter Classic
Rohingya refugees in Sri Lanka protest planned closure of U.N. office, fearing abandonment
Pakistan human rights body says an upcoming election is unlikely to be free and fair