NEW YORK — An Alabama woman who says she was raped by Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs when she was 13 can continue her lawsuit against the rap moguls anonymously for now. a judge ruled Thursday.
In her written order, Judge Analisa Torres also chastised the attorney representing Jay-Z for what she described as his combative gestures and “inflammatory language” against the plaintiff’s attorney, calling them inappropriate.
The Manhattan lawyer said the woman can proceed anonymously at this early stage of the litigation, but she may be required to reveal her identity at a later date, if the case proceeds. This would allow defense attorneys to gather the facts needed to prepare for trial. Torres also cited “substantial interest” from the public.
Combs remains imprisoned in New York awaiting a criminal trial on federal sex trafficking charges. He also faces a wave of sexual assault lawsuits, many of them filed by plaintiff’s attorney Tony Buzbee, a Texas lawyer who says his firm represents more than 150 people, men and women, who allege sexual assault. sexual abuse and exploitation by Combs.
The lawsuits allege that numerous people were mistreated at parties in New York, California and Florida after being served drinks laced with drugs.
Combs’ lawyers called Buzbee’s lawsuit “a brazen publicity stunt, designed to extort payments from celebrities who fear lies will be spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs.” . Jay-Z said in a statement that Buzbee was trying to blackmail him into settling the Alabama woman’s allegations.
Buzbee said in an email that his company does not comment on court rulings.
In her lawsuit, the woman who claims she was raped at age 13 identifies herself as “Jane Doe.” She said she was living in Rochester in 2000 when she visited New York and befriended a limo driver who drove her to an MTV Music Awards after-party, where she was eventually attacked by Jay-Z and Combs. .
Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Jay-Z, asked the judge to dismiss the artist from the woman’s lawsuit and he requested a hearing on the case the day after his written request on December 18.
Citing an interview the plaintiff did on NBC-TV, Spiro wrote that the show revealed “glaring inconsistencies and outright impossibilities” in the plaintiff’s story. For one thing, the woman said she traveled five hours from Rochester to watch the music awards ceremony on a jumbotron outside the VMA, even though permits and photos show that there was no jumbotron at the event.
Spiro also noted that the woman’s father said he did not remember driving from Rochester to pick up his daughter in New York, as she claims.
The woman admitted inconsistencies in her story.
Torres wrote in his order Thursday that Spiro, who had been on the case for less than three weeks, had submitted a “litany of letters and motions attempting to challenge the reputation of plaintiff’s attorney, many of which explained the alleged ” urgency” of this matter. case.”
Referring to Jay-Z by his legal last name, the judge added: “Carter’s attorney’s continued filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks is inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client. The Court will not speed up the legal process just because lawyers demand it.
A message seeking comment from Spiro was left for him Thursday.