Diddy has won a small legal victory after a judge dismissed the majority of claims made by former Da Band member Sara Rivers in a $60 million lawsuit.
According to TMZ, 21 of the 22 counts were dismissed with prejudice on Thursday (August 14), meaning they cannot be refiled. The remaining one count — Count 15, which pertains to the Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act — is on hold while Judge Rakoff decides whether to dismiss it with or without prejudice.
Rakoff stated that he will wait on the GMVA ruling from a higher court before reaching a decision on how to proceed.
Responding to the dismissal, a rep for Diddy told Complex in a statement: “From the outset, we have said these claims were meritless, time-barred, and legally deficient. The Court agreed, finding no legal basis to allow them to proceed. We are pleased the Court carefully analyzed and swiftly dismissed these baseless claims.”
Rivers, who appeared on MTV’s Making the Band and performed under the name Sara Stokes, accused Combs of sexual harassment, assault and battery, being forced to work under “inhumane” conditions, and more in a lawsuit filed in February.
According to People, several others were named in the suit, including MTV, Universal Music, former Bad Boy employees, Combs’ mother Janice, and ex-assistant Fonzworth Bentley.
In the suit, Rivers claims she was walking down a hallway when Combs backed her into a corner, and got close enough “where he could kiss her and asks her in a low, sensual voice how she is doing, if she’s ok and if she needed anything at all.”
Rivers alleged the disgraced mogul told her once more that “if she needs anything to let him know” while he “ran his left hand across her breasts” after adjusting the collar of her jacket.
The former Da Band member also reiterated a claim she made in the Peacock documentary The Making of a Bad Boy in which the singer alleged Combs said he was so upset that he wanted to eat one member’s flesh.
Rivers claimed she was forced to do “uncompensated manual labor,” citing the infamous cheesecake walk incident.
The suit accused Combs of controlling her sleep schedule and dietary habits, while also mocking her struggles with bulimia.
In response to the 21 dismissed claims, Rivers’ attorney Ariel Mitchell told TMZ that they plan on appealing, adding: “We look forward to more litigation specifically against Mr. Combs.”
