Hip Hop Mogul Diddy, also known as Sean Combs, has filed a motion to vacate a $100 million default judgment in a sexual assault lawsuit brought by Michigan inmate Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith. The lawsuit, which accuses Combs of a 1997 sexual assault, has been met with strong denials from Combs and his legal team.
The case began when Cardello-Smith, a convicted felon serving time for kidnapping and sexual assault, alleged that Combs sexually assaulted him during an afterparty at a Holiday Inn in Detroit.
According to Cardello-Smith, the incident involved Combs groping his buttocks while he was engaged in intercourse with one of two women present, followed by drugging and further assault. These claims were made in a lawsuit filed in June, which led to a temporary restraining order in August preventing Combs from selling assets that could potentially be used to compensate Cardello-Smith.
Combs' attorneys argue that the default judgment is invalid under Michigan Court Rule 2.105(A) because Combs was not properly served with the lawsuit. They assert that Combs only became aware of the lawsuit after media reports about the $100 million judgment surfaced. The legal team also highlights Cardello-Smith's history of filing "frivolous" claims and his status as a convicted felon, suggesting that his allegations are "objectively unbelievable."
In their motion, Combs' lawyers state, "This man is a convicted felon and sexual predator, who has been sentenced on 14 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping over the last 26 years. His resume now includes committing a fraud on the court from prison, as Mr. Combs has never heard of him let alone been served with any lawsuit." They further argue that the court lacks jurisdiction over Combs because the signature on the return receipt is not his.
Additionally, the motion points out that even if Cardello-Smith's claims were true, the statute of limitations for such allegations ended in 2007, making the lawsuit legally untenable. The filing also describes the $100 million award as "extraordinary and incompatible with any possible measure of actual damages even if every (facially implausible) allegation in the Complaint were true."
Combs' legal team has requested that Judge Anna Marie Anzalone vacate the default judgment and dissolve the temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. They argue that Cardello-Smith is not entitled to injunctive relief and that Combs' constitutional rights were violated due to improper service of the complaint.
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