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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs gets a break amid legal woes as judge dismisses $100-million judgment

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Sean 'Diddy' Combs gets a break amid legal woes as judge dismisses $100-million judgment

As a longtime supporter of Sean “Diddy” Combs, it’s disheartening to see him facing such challenging times. Yet, I can’t help but feel a glimmer of hope as he manages to secure a legal victory in Michigan. It seems that even when the odds are stacked against him, Diddy never backs down and continues to fight for justice.

Despite potentially being implicated in a severe sex-trafficking allegation, Sean “Diddy” Combs has managed to secure a victory in court proceedings in Michigan.

On Wednesday, a Lenawee County circuit court judge chose to vacate the default verdict that mandated Sean Combs (also known as Diddy) to pay $100 million to a Michigan prisoner who had accused him of sexual assault in a lawsuit. Previously, Judge Anna Marie Anzalone had instructed Combs, aged 54, to pay accuser Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith $10 million per month starting from October, as the entrepreneur missed a civil court hearing last week.

Lawyers representing Combs submitted a 83-page request on September 13th to overturn the verdict, asserting that Cardello-Smith, aged 51, did not adhere to Michigan’s service laws when filing the lawsuit against Combs. Additionally, the motion stated that Combs became aware of the legal action solely through media reports detailing a substantial settlement.

On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Combs declined to provide a statement to The Times. Efforts to reach Cardello-Smith, the individual who filed the lawsuit against Combs without legal representation, were unsuccessful by The Times.

This week, it was brought to the court’s attention by Combs’ legal team that there may be discrepancies in Cardello-Smith’s evidence of service, claiming that some crucial court documents were potentially modified, which could have an impact on the court granting a default judgment, according to reports from The Times.

At present, Cardello-Smith is incarcerated in the Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility due to multiple counts of criminal sexual misconduct. In June, he filed a lawsuit against Combs, claiming that he was drugged and sexually violated by Diddy during a party at a Holiday Inn in Michigan, which took place in June 1997.

In his lawsuit, Cardello-Smith claimed that Combs inappropriately touched him on his left buttock and gave him a drugged drink. After consuming the drink, Cardello-Smith stated he lost consciousness. He further alleged that when he regained awareness, he observed Combs engaged in sexual activity with a woman. The rapper allegedly said, “I did this to you as well,” according to the court documents.

Before initiating this lawsuit, Cardello-Smith had previously been convicted three times in Minnesota’s criminal court system. These convictions followed either a plea agreement or a no contest plea. The offenses ranged from third-degree criminal sexual conduct to kidnapping and first-degree criminal sexual conduct during the commission of a felony. Five of these incidents took place in September and October of 1997, which is the same year as the alleged incident involving Combs.

In their recent court filing, lawyers for Combs dismissed Cardello-Smith’s accusations as “hardly credible,” stating that the case presented a “storyline that is difficult to grasp.” Earlier, Marc Agnifilo, attorney for Combs, referred to Cardello-Smith as a “former convict and sexual offender” in a statement sent to The Times.

Apart from the costly standard agreement, Anzalone additionally established a short-term injunction at Cardello-Smith’s request in August, aimed at the troubled businessperson. The court will hear this case in the upcoming month.

Still, Diddy’s legal woes are far from over.

A hip-hop artist, whose past accusations of sexual misconduct have surfaced recently, was apprehended on Monday as part of a broad federal investigation concerning claims of sex-trafficking. He denied all allegations – three charges of human trafficking, racketeering, and facilitating prostitution – in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday.

Despite the repeated pleas from his lawyer for house arrest or bail set at $50 million, the defendant will continue to stay in a federal prison in Brooklyn, New York, until the trial concludes.

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2024-09-19 03:01

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