A lawsuit that tangled rapper Jay-Z into a legal battle concerning sexual assault allegations against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was dropped on Friday, court documents showed.
In a notice filed Friday in Manhattan federal court, attorneys representing the “Jane Doe” plaintiff who brought forward the lawsuit against the two music moguls said the case was “voluntarily dismissed with prejudice.”
Tony Buzbee, a high-profile lawyer representing the plaintiff, declined to comment.
Combs’ legal team told Business Insider in an email that the “complete dismissal” of the lawsuit was “yet another confirmation that these lawsuits are built on falsehoods, not facts.”
In their statement, Combs’ attorneys denied that their client ever committed sexual assault or was involved in human trafficking.
Dropping the lawsuit with prejudice means the plaintiff will not be allowed to bring the same case back to court, Neama Rahmani, a personal injury attorney and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told BI.
Dozens of legal cases have been brought against Combs, one of the most influential figures in hip-hop history, containing allegations of sexual assault, physical abuse, or sex trafficking.
On September 16, a federal grand jury indicted Combs on felony charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering. Combs, who has denied the charges, has remained at a detention center in Brooklyn since his arrest that month.
A separate lawsuit, unrelated to the grand jury indictment, was filed in October by a Jane Doe. The lawsuit accused Combs of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl at a house party. Attorneys wrote in the suit that the plaintiff sought damages to be determined at a trial.
The initial filing contained references to “another male celebrity, Celebrity A,” who was also accused, in the lawsuit, of engaging in the sexual assault of a minor.
In December, attorneys representing the plaintiff revealed in an amended complaint that that celebrity was Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter.
“The pleading speaks for itself,” Buzbee said in a statement at the time. “This is a very serious matter that will be litigated in court.”
Carter denied the allegations and, in a personal statement posted on social media, said Buzbee was blackmailing him into settling out of court.
“These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case,” the statement said.
The state of New York passed the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act in 2022, which gives a lookback window for people to file civil claims regarding an incident that may have happened more than nine years ago until February 28, 2025.
Given that the lookback window is closing and the Jane Doe’s attorneys filed to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, Rahmani said the case is “pretty much dead in the water.”
In a legal filing from January, Carter sought to dismiss the lawsuit and place monetary sanctions against Buzbee. That filing said the Jane Doe’s case contained “substantial inaccuracies,” including an NBC News interview with the Jane Doe’s father, who appeared to contradict some of the details outlined in the civil lawsuit.
The lawsuit, for example, said that the 13-year-old was picked up from the after-party where she was assaulted. Her father said he had no memory of picking up his young daughter from the event.
Rahmani said the plaintiff’s attorneys’ move to dismiss the lawsuit involving Carter will likely have no impact on the dozens of ongoing legal battles against Combs
“I don’t think it’s gonna move the needle,” he said.
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