Diddy wants to dismiss some of the claims in accuser Joi Dickerson-Neal’s sexual assault lawsuit against the hip-hop mogul.
Diddy Seeks Dismissal of Some Claims in Sexual Assault Lawsuit
According to documents obtained by XXL, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ attorneys filed a motion on Friday (April 26) in New York court asking a judge to dismiss some of the claims against the Bad Boy Entertainment founder in Joi Dickerson-Neal’s sexual assault lawsuit. In the documents, Diddy’s counsel argued that Dickerson-Neal’s claims of revenge porn and human trafficking should be dismissed with prejudice because those criminal statutes were neither enacted nor in existence at the time of the alleged sexual assault in 1991.
Diddy’s attorneys noted that Dickerson-Neal’s claim of human trafficking under the New York Services for Victims of Human Trafficking Law is not applicable in her case against Diddy because the law only came into effect in 2007, which is 16 years after the alleged sexual assault happened.
The music mogul’s attorneys also contend that Dickerson-Neal’s claim of revenge porn against Diddy under the New York City Revenge Porn Law, can’t be used because that law became effective in December of 2017, which was 26 years after the alleged incident.
Diddy’s attorneys insist that Dickerson-Neal can’t sue Bad Boy Entertainment or Combs Entertainment, who are listed as defendants in her lawsuit, because the two companies didn’t exist at the time of the alleged sexual assault.
“As a statute cannot apply to conduct occurring before it existed, a plaintiff cannot sue an entity for conduct that allegedly took place before it existed,” Diddy’s lawyers said in their motion.
Diddy, His Company Hit With Sexual Assault Lawsuit
In November of 2023, Joi Dickerson-Neal filed a lawsuit against Diddy and his companies claiming the music executive sexually assaulted her and recorded the assault without her knowledge when she was a 19-year-old college student in 1991.
In her 22-page civil suit, Dickerson-Neal claimed that on Jan. 3, 1991, she went to dinner with Diddy at a restaurant in Harlem, N.Y. She alleged that during their meal, he “intentionally drugged” her, which left her incapacitated. Dickerson-Neal alleged that Diddy then drove her to a place where he was staying at and sexually assaulted her.
Dickerson-Neal also claimed that without her knowledge, Diddy recorded the alleged sexual assault and shared the video among various associates within the music industry.
Diddy has since vehemently denied the allegations and accused Joi Dickerson-Neal of exploiting the New York law to implicate companies that did not exist for monetary gain.
