NEW YORK (AP) — An Alabama girl who says she was raped by Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs when she was 13 can proceed anonymously, for now, in her lawsuit in opposition to the rap moguls, a choose dominated Thursday.
In her written order, Choose Analisa Torres additionally chastised the lawyer representing Jay-Z for what she described as his combative motions and “inflammatory language” in opposition to the plaintiff’s lawyer, calling them inappropriate.
The Manhattan jurist stated the girl can proceed anonymously at this early stage of the litigation, however she could also be required to disclose her identification at a later date, if the case proceeds. That might enable protection attorneys to gather info mandatory to arrange for trial. Torres additionally cited “substantial interest” from the general public.
Combs stays jailed in New York awaiting a legal trial on federal intercourse trafficking fees. He additionally faces a wave of sexual assault lawsuits, a lot of which have been filed by the plaintiff’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee, a Texas legal professional who says his agency represents over 150 individuals, each women and men, who allege sexual abuse and exploitation by Combs.
The lawsuits allege many people have been abused at events in New York, California and Florida after receiving drug-laced drinks.
Combs’ attorneys have dismissed Buzbee’s lawsuits as “shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs.” Jay-Z has stated in an announcement that Buzbee is making an attempt to blackmail him to settle the Alabama girl’s allegations.
Buzbee stated in an electronic mail that his agency doesn’t touch upon courtroom rulings.
In her lawsuit, the girl who says she was raped at 13 identifies herself as “Jane Doe.” She stated she was dwelling in Rochester in 2000 when she made her solution to New York Metropolis and befriended a limousine driver who drove her to an after-party for the MTV Music Awards, the place she says she was ultimately attacked by Jay-Z and Combs.
Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Jay-Z, requested the choose to dismiss the entertainer from the girl’s lawsuit and he requested a listening to on the case for the day after he made his requests in writing on Dec. 18.
Citing an interview the plaintiff did on NBC-TV, Spiro wrote that the published revealed “glaring inconsistencies and outright impossibilities” within the plaintiff’s story. For one factor, the girl stated she traveled for 5 hours from Rochester to observe the music awards present on a jumbotron exterior the VMA though permits and footage present there was no jumbotron on the occasion.
Spiro additionally famous that the girl’s father has stated he doesn’t recall driving from Rochester to select his daughter up in New York Metropolis, as she says he did.
The girl has admitted inconsistencies in her story.
Torres wrote in her order Thursday that Spiro, who has been on the case lower than three weeks, has submitted a “litany of letters and motions attempting to impugn the character of Plaintiff’s lawyer, many of them expounding on the purported ‘urgency’ of this case.”
Referring to Jay-Z by his authorized final identify, the choose added: “Carter’s lawyer’s relentless 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 fast-track the judicial process merely because counsel demands it.”
A message in search of remark from Spiro was left for him on Thursday.
