Justin Combs and Cuba Gooding Jr. were dismissed from Lil Rod’s lawsuit after a judge ruled the case wasn’t properly served by the court’s deadline.
Justin Combs and Cuba Gooding Jr. walked away from a high-profile legal battle in Los Angeles after a judge dismissed them from Lil Rod’s civil lawsuit against Diddy due to missed service deadlines and procedural missteps.
Lil Rod, born Rodney Jones, had accused Cuba Gooding Jr. of sexually assaulting him on a yacht rented by Diddy in January 2023.
He claimed the actor groped him without consent and only stopped when after he was physically pushed away. Cuba Gooding Jr. was added to the lawsuit in a later amendment.
As for Justin Combs, Lil Rod claimed he was involved in the sex trafficking operation and a shooting at Chalice Recording Studios in Los Angeles and alleged Diddy told him to lie to police to protect his son.
He suggested either Diddy or Justin Combs may have been responsible for the incident.
On Tuesday (May 6), a Judge tossed out the claims against both men after Lil Rod’s lawyer failed to serve them by the November 8, 2024, court-ordered deadline.
According to court documents, Lil Rod’s attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, did not request an extension and made flawed attempts to serve both defendants.
For Cuba Gooding Jr., Blackburn only tried to serve him in California, even though he had previously claimed the actor was in New York or Florida.
The Florida attempt was skipped entirely based on unverified information that Gooding was staying in hotels. The California service attempt came after the deadline had already passed.
In Justin Combs’ case, Blackburn initially gave the wrong address and only submitted the correct one two days before the deadline.
A process server confirmed Combs lived at the property but couldn’t get past a private gate. Although California law allows service through a security guard, the process server declined to do so.
Blackburn didn’t fix the issue before the deadline and later tried to blame the process server.
The judge ruled that Blackburn failed to show “good cause” for the delays and denied his request to serve the defendants through newspaper ads in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times.
The claims were dismissed without prejudice, meaning Lil Rod could refile if he properly serves them in the future.
The broader civil lawsuit against Diddy includes accusations of sexual assault, harassment, drug use and threats during the production of Diddy’s Love Album.
The case was initially filed under civil RICO statutes, but those charges were dismissed in March. Other claims, including sexual assault, are still moving forward.
Lil Rod may also be called as a witness in Diddy’s federal criminal case involving sex trafficking and racketeering, which began Monday, May 5.
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