A New York judge has reduced a civil action filed against embattled music mogul Sean Diddy Combs by a woman who accused him of several cases of sexual assault in the late 1990s and early 2000s in a small yet significant legal victory.
On July 8, New York State Supreme Court Justice Leslie Stroh allowed only one of the four claims brought by accuser April Lampros to proceed, one under the New York City Gender-Motivated Violence Act.
The other claims comprising those linked to prior events before the act was enacted in December 2000 were dismissed by the judge.
The move is a week after Combs, 55, was found guilty by a federal jury on two charges of prostitution, but avoided more serious counts such as racketeering and sex trafficking. He is in federal custody, awaiting sentencing on October 3.
Charges and Jurisprudence
In May 2024, Lampros sued Combs on the basis of numerous sexual assaults over the period of 1995-2001.
The woman who attended the former fashion institute of technology accused the Grammy-award-winning producer of raping her in 1995, raping her again in 1996, forcing her to perform a sex act with his then-girlfriend Kim Porter in 1998 (Porter died in 2018), and also raping her once in late 2000 or in early 2001.
The legal team of Combs responded strongly to the suit by declaring it as without any foundation and by referencing the time interval between the supposed events and the initiation of the complaint.
In August 2024, lawyers of Combs requested the dismissal of the case as a whole on the ground that a large part of the claims brought by Lampros was stale and not detailed enough.
The judge eventually consented to limiting the lawsuit by excluding any allegations involving actions that allegedly preceded the Gender-Motivated Violence Act.
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The ruling was followed by a statement issued by Combs attorneys:
We are happy that the court granted our motion to dismiss to a great extent. Mr. Combs has never got an opportunity to challenge the assumption of such claims, and this decision does not legitimize them at all.”
The Thing Lampros Does as a Response: Full Steam Ahead
Lampros legal team is not yielding even after the ruling. Her lawyer, Tyrone Blackburn, verified that the only claim left – the one that is being used to support the suit now – is the one that comes under the Gender-Motivated Violence Act. He stated that Combs would be deposed within two months and discovery demands at once.
We are off to the races, the playtime is over, said Blackburn in a remarks.
Lampros earlier dismissed three counts of her complaint involving battery, sexual assault, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. She also disqualified Bad Boy Records and Sony Music Arista Records as defendants who she claimed had abetted the same abuse by Combs when she was employed by the said companies at the time.
Federal Trial Fallout Trial Under Way
The civil suit is also proceeding against the backdrop of the federal criminal case against Combs, which ended July 2 with a divided verdict.
He pleaded guilty of two accounts of transporting individuals across state lines to have prostitution after being found guilty of two cases that involved the young women transported between the year 2012 and 2016.
The racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges, however, led to acquittals- a partial reprieve to the hip-hop icon who has long been beset by the rumors of abuse, manipulation, and coercion backstage of his music empire.
However, the partial victory did not save him a place in jail. Immediately after the ruling, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian rejected the bail request of Combs, citing a history of domestic violence and describing the artist as a threat to society.
Prosecutors indicated that Combs might receive a 20-year prison sentence on the prostitution-related convictions but most likely sentencing guidelines indicate that Combs will receive a 51 to 63 months sentence.
His attorneys are arguing to limit his sentence to two years or less because he has done what he can to find personal redemption, like the batterer intervention programs he participated in before his arrest in September 2024.
The Reception and Legacy under Threat
As the legal wrangles continue, the legacy of Combs is still being torn apart. Formerly known as a visionary in the hip-hop and fashion industries, Diddy currently has over 70 civil lawsuits on his hands, all of which revolve around sexual misconduct.
The cases appear in a wave, reminiscent of the reckoning that has befallen other entertainment figures of repute over the past few years.
Activists have demanded there to be more accountability in the music industry and more safeguarding of the women who work in the music industry.
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People point out that it has taken decades before these allegations were brought before the court, showing how fear, power, and silence have been used to shield the alleged abusers.
With the October 3 sentencing fast approaching and civil cases proceeding, Sean Combs is still in jail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
We do not know whether this recent court decision will be a legal turning point in the saga of the embattled mogul or just a cessation preceding a long series of accusations.
