Rap and vogue mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs filed a movement on Monday to dismiss the explosive civil case filed by Lil Rod, which accused Combs of grooming him and exposing him to a number of crimes, together with drug trafficking, sexual assault and serving drug-laced cocktails at his notorious events.
The movement within the Rodney Jones v. Sean Combs civil case was filed in the USA District Courtroom within the Southern District of New York by defendants Sean Combs, Love Information, Inc. and Combs World. Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. can also be a defendant within the case, as is Common Music honcho Lucian GraingeIt, together with varied different highly effective executives. The movement seeks to dismiss the Second Amended Grievance filed in February with prejudice, claiming that Jones is merely after unpaid earnings from his work with Diddy and that his legal professional is fanning the flames of the dispute from behind the scenes.
In 2022, Rodney Jones Jr., the musician and producer generally known as Lil Rod, was employed by Combs to work on his 2023 album, The Love Album: Off the Grid, Diddy’s first studio file since 2006. For over a 12 months, Jones says he frolicked residing with Diddy in three totally different houses and skilled and witnessed a number of salacious occasions that embody his sexual assault, being compelled by Combs to have interaction in intercourse acts, being made to solicit intercourse employees, being drugged, humiliated and repeatedly groped on his anus and genitals by Gooding whereas in Diddy’s orbit.
Jones’ case was filed on Feb. 26 in New York federal court docket and he seeks $30 million in restitution. Within the amended submitting, which got here shortly after the criticism was initially entered, Jones added additional particulars, stating {that a} “RICO enterprise” exists which repeatedly “did not adequately monitor, warn or supervise” Combs as Jones suffered abuse at his fingers. The claims despatched shockwaves via the hip-hop world and set off a cottage business of speculating on what might or might not be occurring behind the gates of Diddy’s houses and at his allegedly hedonistic events.
On Monday, this was formally countered within the submitting from Sher Tremonte, a Manhattan-based regulation agency.
“Mr. Jones’s lawsuit is pure fiction — a shameless try to create media hype and extract a fast settlement,” Combs’ lawyer Erica Wolff stated in an announcement on Monday. “There was no RICO conspiracy and Mr. Jones was not threatened, groomed, assaulted or trafficked. We look ahead to proving – in a court docket of regulation – that every one of Mr. Jones’s claims are made up and have to be dismissed.”
The movement calls Jones’ Second Amended Grievance “his third try to decorate up a run-of-the-mill industrial disagreement as a salacious RICO conspiracy” and that the 100-page submitting from earlier this 12 months contains “numerous tall tales, shameless superstar identify drops and irrelevant photos.” It states that Jones’ assault declare falls on its face when it comes to the essential info, like the place and when it allegedly transpired.”
The movement continues: “But, regardless of all its hyperbole and lurid theatrics, the Second Amended Grievance fails to state a single viable declare towards any of the Combs defendants. Replete with legally meaningless allegations and blatant falsehoods, the SAC’s true function is to generate media hype and exploit it to extract a settlement.”
Within the movement, Sher Tremonte attorneys characterize what they deem as false allegations and lies seen within the criticism because the work of the plaintiff’s Brooklyn-based legal professional Tyrone Blackburn, who they accuse of chasing rich shoppers to embarrass them and search a fast payday. The accusations surrounding Combs, they state, are “no shock,” and convey up the truth that Blackburn was just lately referred to this court docket’s Grievance Committee for participating in an alleged sample of “improperly fil[ing] circumstances in federal court docket to garner media consideration, embarrass defendants with salacious allegations and strain defendants to settle rapidly.”
The attorneys then go after Jones’ credibility, claiming that he has taken “a web page from his lawyer’s playbook” by posting a video on X (previously Twitter) during which “he, along with a performer generally known as ‘Uncle Murda,’ laughed about this lawsuit (regardless of his allegations of ‘extreme emotional misery’), demanded Mr. Combs pay him ‘that cash by Monday’ and warned: ‘I’m from Chicago, we don’t play about our enterprise.’”
“Just like the SAC, Jones’ videotaped threats on social media are a part of a calculated effort to advertise his private model and revenue from the publicity,” the movement states. “Such techniques haven’t any place in federal court docket.”
Along with seeing the dismissal of the sexual assault declare, Combs’ attorneys are asking {that a} declare of Combs’ sample of racketeering exercise, his legal responsibility for sexual advances from third events and the plaintiff’s claimed affected by emotional misery be tossed. And relating to the breach of oral contract allegation, attorneys for Combs wrote that the declare is past the statute of limitations.
In response, Blackburn referred to as the submitting a “billing train” for the attorneys who signed the movement, in an announcement to Deadline.
“It’s a weak try to fill their pockets earlier than he’s indicted, they usually resolve to haul ass, similar to his 5 earlier legal professionals did,” Blackburn informed the outlet. “Relating to Cotes’ opinion, if their consumer doesn’t have interaction in salacious conduct, I’d not have something salacious to file. I decide my shoppers; I don’t decide their info.”
Jones has 15 days, or till Sept. 9, to reply to Monday’s movement to dismiss.
Combs has denied all claims towards him within the varied lawsuits filed lately.
