Lawyers for Sean "Diddy" Combs want the "revenge porn" claims dismissed from one of several lawsuits the disgraced record mogul is currently facing.
Joi Dickerson-Neal accused Combs of drugging her while they were on a dinner date in 1991. The plaintiff claims Combs then drove her to a recording studio and filmed himself sexually assaulting her. She was just 19 at the time.
The tape was then allegedly shown to one of Dickerson-Neal's male friends, who told her about it.
They claim that the alleged misconduct predates two relevant state laws.
Combs' attorneys have denied all the claims, but in a recent filing they took particular issue with the plaintiff's revenge porn and sex trafficking allegations.
They claim that claims can't stand because the New York State Revenge Porn Law didn't go into effect until 2019. The alleged sexual assault also predates the state's 2007 Services for Victims of Human Trafficking Law.
"Without addressing the Complaint’s numerous false, offensive, and salacious accusations, which the Combs Defendants vehemently deny, substantially all of the claims purportedly alleged by Joi Dickerson-Neal ... cannot survive this Motion to Dismiss because they were brought under statutes that did not exist at the time the alleged misconduct occurred and against corporate entities that were not formed or in existence," says the motion obtained by Rolling Stone.
Combs was sued under New York's Adult Survivors Act, which temporarily eliminated the statute of limitations for accusers who were minors when the alleged misconduct occurred.
The law's deadline last year led to a flood of lawsuits against prominent music industry figures including Jimmy Iovine, Russell Simmons and Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose.
New York City has passed its own legislation that allows similar suits to be filed until March 2025.
Combs' fall from grace began when his ex Casandra "Cassie" Ventura filed a lawsuit claiming he raped her multiple times over the course of their 10 year relationship.
The matter was eventually resolved out of court, but the suit opened the floodgates for several other accusers. They aren't all women. Producer Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones also accused Combs of sexual misconduct in a February lawsuit.
Combs is currently facing several sexual misconduct lawsuits in New York State.
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The following month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security raided Combs' homes in Miami and Los Angeles as part of a federal investigation.
He isn't facing any criminal charges at this time, but the businessman's alleged "drug mule" was taken into custody.
"There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated," his attorney Aaron Dyer said in a statement. "Mr. Combs was never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities."
The legal saga began when he was sued by his ex Casandra "Cassie" Ventura in November. That suit was resolved out of court.
Combs' 26-year-old son Christian has also been accused of sexual misconduct in a similar lawsuit.
Grace O’Marcaigh claimed she was part of the staff on a yacht the Combs' chartered in 2022.
She alleges Christian approached her multiple times throughout the event, gave her a shot of tequila that she suspected might have been spiked, and attempted to physically pressure her into sexual contact.
O’Marcaigh also claims that Jones was onboard the yacht and filmed portions of the alleged assault.
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