Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs files to dismiss claims in sexual assault lawsuit
NEW YORK — Lawyers for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs are fighting to dismiss claims raised in a sexual assault lawsuit brought against the music mogul, arguing that he can’t be sued under laws that didn’t exist at the time of the alleged incident.
In a motion filed in a New York court Friday, Combs’ legal team requested that claims made in a suit brought by Joi Dickerson-Neal, including revenge porn and human trafficking, be dismissed with prejudice.
She said the 54-year-old musician “intentionally drugged” her then brought her home and sexually assaulted her after a date in Harlem when she was a 19-year-old college student.
The incident happened in 1991, his lawyers noted, when certain laws cited in the suit had not yet been in place. They pointed to the New York Services for Victims of Human Trafficking Law, which wasn’t in effect until 2007, some 16 years after the alleged assault took place.
Diddy’s legal team further argued Dickerson-Neal should not be allowed to sue under the New York State Revenge Porn Law, codified in 2019, the New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law, which was passed in 2000, nor the 2016 NYC Revenge Porn Law.
Diddy has denied the claims in the suit, accusing Dickerson-Neal of exploiting the New York law that temporarily extended the statute of limitations. She filed her lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court in November 2023, a day before the New York State Adult Survivors Act expiration date.
It also came just weeks after Diddy’s ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, known professionally as singer Cassie, filed a sex trafficking and sexual assault lawsuit against Combs.
The next day, her lawyer announced the former couple had reached a settlement, but did not provide further details.
But Diddy’s legal trouble has only escalated in the months since. He’s the subject of several other lawsuits, including one filed by music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones Jr. He similarly accused Combs of sexual misconduct, assault and harassment.
In March, Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security Investigations agents and other law enforcement officers as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation.
