Sean "Diddy" Combs' legal team is strongly opposing the accusations against him in civil suits amid an ongoing federal sex-trafficking investigation.
His attorneys have asked a New York court to dismiss parts of a sexual assault lawsuit filed by Joi Dickerson-Neal's attorneys, accusing Combs of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 1991 when she was 19. They argue that certain claims, including revenge porn and human trafficking allegations, should be dismissed with prejudice because the relevant New York laws were not in place at the time of the alleged incident. The revenge porn law was enacted in 2019, and the trafficking law came into effect in 2007.
The legal action follows the recent search of Combs' Holmby Hills and Miami mansions by heavily armed Department of Homeland Security agents as part of a sex trafficking investigation directed by prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York.
In a motion to dismiss parts of the Dickerson-Neal suit, Combs' attorneys have labeled the accusations as "false, offensive, and salacious" and vehemently deny most of the claims. They also aim to strike portions of the lawsuit targeting Combs' corporations, arguing that they did not exist at the time of the alleged conduct.
According to the lawsuit, Dickerson-Neal, then a student at Syracuse University, met Combs during a break and reluctantly agreed to have dinner with him at a Harlem restaurant, where he allegedly gave her drugs that incapacitated her. The suit alleges that Combs then sexually assaulted her at a music studio.
Dickerson-Neal is among several women, including Combs' former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, who have filed lawsuits accusing him of sexual and physical abuse. Combs has settled the suit with Ventura.
All the lawsuits were filed under the Adult Survivors Act, a law that went into effect in November 2022 in New York, allowing individuals who believe they were sexually assaulted a one-year window to sue their abusers, even if the statute of limitations had expired.
In response to the mounting litigation, Combs posted on Instagram, denying the allegations and vowing to fight for his name, family, and the truth. His lead attorney, Aaron Dyer, called the federal raids "an unprecedented ambush" and reiterated Combs' innocence.