Sean “Diddy” Combs is seeking to overturn a $100 million sexual assault judgment a Michigan inmate won against him earlier this week, claiming he was never served with the “frivolous” lawsuit.
In an emergency motion filed Thursday, attorneys for the embattled rapper said he learned Derrick Lee Cardello-SmithThe lawsuit and his massive backlash from the media coverage – and that the case would have been easily dismissed if Combs had been given a fair chance to respond.
“This is a frivolous lawsuit against a prominent businessman, based on obvious fabrications, filed by a convicted rapist and serial litigator with an overactive imagination and thirst for fame,” Combs' attorneys wrote.
The massive award, handed down by a Michigan state judge on Monday, was what's known as a default judgment — a type of legal award granted when an accused party doesn't respond to a legal action. Court records show that Combs' attorneys never entered the case or filed any type of response.
But in Thursday's filings, they say that's because they were never legally served with the charges — a critical first step in any U.S. lawsuit: “Had Mr. Combs been made aware of these outrageous allegations in time, he would have defended himself. of. as he is ready to do now. But he didn't have that chance.”
At a hearing last month, the judge overseeing the case said Cardello-Smith had provided sufficient proof that she properly served Combs by certified mail, which requires a return receipt. But in Thursday's response, Combs' attorneys say the letter was not sent to the rapper's primary residence and was not signed by him.
“Accordingly, the default judgment must be vacated,” Diddy's lawyers wrote.
Once one of the most powerful men in the music industry, Diddy has been hit with at least eight civil sexual assault lawsuits over the past year, including claims by ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura that later followed a video showing him assaulting her. The hip-hop mogul also faces an apparent federal criminal investigation after authorities raided his homes in March.
Cardello-Smith sued Combs in June, alleging the rapper had drunk him and sexually assaulted him at a party in 1997. But in filings Thursday, the rapper's lawyers said the inmate's claims are “objectively unbelievable ” and that “no suit could be more frivolous.”
“Plaintiff alleges he was sexually assaulted in 1997, but cannot support his story as to where this allegedly occurred,” Combs' attorneys write. “In addition to the alleged assault, plaintiff alleges a fictitious conspiracy between Mr. Combs … and several high-ranking Wayne County judicial and police officials.”
As Didi's attorneys repeatedly pointed out in their filings, Cardello-Smith, 51, is serving multiple decades-long sentences for various crimes, including first-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of kidnapping. The earliest he can be released is 2036.
The lawsuit against Combs is not the first civil action Cardello-Smith has pursued behind bars. Last year, she sued a Detroit-area Catholic archdiocese, alleging she was sexually abused by a priest and others between 1979 and 1993. The case was dismissed last month by a state appeals court, which ruled Cardello-Smith's claims were barred by statute of limitations.
In their response Thursday, Diddy's lawyers said the same defense would apply to the current lawsuit: “As ridiculous as the allegations are, if every word of the complaint were true, the lawsuit would still be completely unsustainable because the statute of limitations on the asserted claims expired nearly 17 years before the case was filed.”
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/pro/diddy-inmate-100m-abuse-judgment-overturned-never-served-with-lawsuit/