Diddy lands a courtroom win as a federal choose throws out RICO and emotional misery claims within the Lil Rod lawsuit.
Sean “Diddy” Combs simply scored a courtroom victory in his high-profile authorized brawl with Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones—after a federal choose in Manhattan dismissed 5 main claims within the explosive lawsuit that accused the Hip-Hop mogul of every little thing from racketeering to emotional torment.
In a 31-page ruling, Decide J. Paul Oetken gutted Jones’ sprawling 402-paragraph criticism, tossing out a number of the most extreme allegations leveled in opposition to Diddy, together with the declare below the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)—a significant blow to Jones’ authorized workforce.
“Jones fails to deal with any of those arguments in his opposition temporary,” the choose wrote, chiding Lil Rod’s legal professional for not backing up their very own lawsuit. “Whereas the Courtroom prefers to determine points on the deserves, it shouldn’t be essential to root round a 402-paragraph criticism to contrive novel arguments on Jones’s behalf.”
Diddy’s protection workforce had slammed the go well with as a “backyard selection breach of contract” – a easy authorized disagreement – disguised as a federal RICO case—and the choose agreed.
“Jones’s effort to transform a ‘backyard selection … breach of contract case right into a RICO go well with due to this fact fails,” the ruling said, formally dismissing the racketeering allegations in opposition to Combs, Combs World, and his longtime Chief of Employees Kristina Khorram.
The choose additionally dismissed two counts of intentional infliction of emotional misery, one declare of negligent infliction of emotional misery and a breach of contract allegation. On high of that, the choose tossed out Jones’ human trafficking declare—filed below the Trafficking Victims Safety Act—in opposition to Combs World.
That also leaves 14 causes of motion standing, together with a number of sexual assault-related allegations and a TVPA declare in opposition to Diddy himself.
The lawsuit, initially filed in February 2024, alleges a yearlong sample of abuse, sexual coercion, and psychological manipulation throughout the manufacturing of Diddy’s Love album, the place Jones served as a producer.
The ruling clearly exposes Jones’ authorized technique weaknesses, particularly with the choose’s warning to legal professional Tyrone Blackburn, who filed the go well with. Nonetheless, this doesn’t imply Diddy is off the hook fully.
The core of the case—significantly the intercourse trafficking and abuse claims—survives for now. Nevertheless, with RICO out of the image, one of many heaviest authorized hammers has been laid down.
Diddy’s federal trial on felony RICO prices is ready to start on Might 5.