Sean “Diddy” Combs could have been sentenced to simply round 4 years behind bars in his legal case on Friday, however he nonetheless faces a mountain of lawsuits accusing him of sexual violence and different disturbing acts.
The practically 70 civil fits will show to be a “headache” for Combs — as he already faces authorized charges in his federal sex-crimes case that would simply high $15 million up to now, specialists advised The Publish.
Attorneys had been cut up on if the Dangerous Boy Information founder would “combat like hell” or dip into his dwindling, estimated $400 million fortune to shortly repay his lengthy listing of accusers.
Legal professional Nicole Brenecki stated that it wouldn’t shock her if Combs moved to settle lots of the claims, for the reason that monetary impression could be minimal, and he may shortly finish the “persevering with headache.”
However hip-hop and celeb legal professional Bradford Cohen says the circumstances he reviewed appeared skinny, and that Combs ought to combat again.
Settling “doesn’t make sense in the long term as a result of the others are going to need to pursue you even tougher now that you just settled one case,” Cohen stated.
David Setlzer, a former Miami prosecutor, identified that whereas Combs was convicted of two prostitution counts at his Manhattan federal courtroom trial, he was nonetheless acquitted on the extra critical sex-trafficking raps.
“He simply bought exonerated on a number of felonies — I feel he’s going to come back out stronger than ever,” the legal professional stated.
“It’s a enterprise resolution on how a lot he needs to spend. And I’m positive his attorneys are usually not low-cost.”
Combs’ litigation nightmare kicked off in late 2023 when ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura sued him over rape and abuse claims.
The case was settled lower than 24 hours later for a whopping $20 million, a sum Ventura revealed whereas testifying in opposition to Combs in his legal trial.
That fast settlement opened the floodgates for extra lawsuits, one lawyer stated, including that Combs’ greatest technique now was to combat his method by.
“Folks bought phrase that it was settled, after which there was blood within the water,” Cohen stated, “the feeding begins, and the attorneys come out of the woodwork.”
Cohen, who has repped an enormous variety of celebs, together with Drake, Travis Scott and Lil Wayne, hinted that Combs would possibly take a web page out of Cardi B’s guide, who declined to settle a civil assault case and took it to trial, the place she emerged victorious.
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“Cardi B was very, very shiny when it got here to this sort of state of affairs,” Cohen stated.
Whereas seemingly that the singer spent multitudes greater than any potential settlement on the case, Cohen stated it despatched a message: “Don’t play with me.”
“Most of those [Combs] lawsuits, whenever you learn by them, there’s not plenty of substance to them,” Cohen stated, including that lots of the decades-old claims lack any bodily proof.
“When you begin getting by the preliminary discovery, typically they begin to sort of crumble,” he stated of such circumstances.
Civil circumstances, Brenecki added, are “about you stuffing your pocket, so it is advisable do the work” — which includes producing intensive information and proof to again up claims.
“You’d be stunned how shocked individuals are once they discover out that you could’t simply go round saying: ‘I’m traumatized,’” she stated.
Most of the 60-plus civil lawsuits filed in opposition to Combs include claims of sexual assault, rape and different violent acts — some graphically described in courtroom papers — with the alleged sufferer pool together with males, ladies, adults and minors.
Co-founder of Dangerous Boy Leisure, Kirk Burrowes, is suing over claims that he was pressured to look at Combs masturbate and have interaction in intercourse acts with different — and ordered him to rent extra homosexual male interns — along with claims of violence and coercion.
Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones Jr., a Chicago document producer, alleges Diddy ordered him to amass medicine and prostitutes to “carry out intercourse acts to the pleasure of Mr. Combs.”
Lots of Jones’ claims had been dismissed in March, however his sexual assault claims stay lively.
A handful of fits have already been dismissed outright, a few of which got here after judges dominated they may not proceed anonymously.
One of the vital stunning fits, which claimed that Combs and Jay-Z raped a 13-year-old lady, was voluntarily dismissed with prejudice by the accuser’s lawyer Tony Buzbee in February.
Buzbee, who reps lots of Combs’ accusers — and has since been banned from practising regulation in Manhattan federal courtroom — didn’t reply to a request for remark.
