C.J. Wallace is asking a federal judge to keep a default ruling in place against Jonathan Hay after Hay accused him of helping set up an alleged sexual assault involving Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Wallace’s attorneys asked a federal judge in Tampa to deny Hay’s attempt to undo the clerk’s default in Wallace’s defamation lawsuit. The case stems from Hay’s claims about an alleged 2020 studio session during a remix project honoring The Notorious B.I.G.
Hay has accused Diddy of beating him, restraining him, and forcing a sexual act during the session, and that Wallace allegedly helped arrange the encounter.
Wallace has denied the claims and sued Hay for defamation.
In the new filing, Wallace’s lawyers, Ronnie Bitman and Jeremiah Reynolds, said Hay has not given the court a valid reason to set aside the default.
“Jonathan Hay offers no evidence or legal authority in support of his Motion to Set Aside Clerk’s Default, falling woefully short of meeting his burden to show there is good cause to set aside the default entered against him,” the attorneys wrote.
Hay has argued he was not properly served and that he was also dealing with California litigation and law enforcement referrals connected to his allegations.
“For months, [Hay] has engaged in a deliberate pattern of concealment and evasion designed to frustrate service of process and obstruct the orderly administration of this case,” Wallace’s attorneys wrote.
According to the filing, Wallace’s team made about 17 attempts to serve Hay across four months and used three process servers and a licensed private investigator before serving him through the Florida Secretary of State, but that Hay gave a false address in sworn discovery responses in another case, later moved without notice, and left no forwarding address.
“Now, having successfully been served and failing to respond, Defendant asks this Court to set aside the resulting default and reward his obstruction,” the attorneys wrote.
Diddy has denied Hay’s claims in related litigation. His lawyers have argued that Hay either consented to or welcomed the alleged conduct.
“The First Amendment defense, for example, asserts only that Defendant’s ‘statements and actions were protected activities’ without identifying what statements were made, when, to whom, or in what context,” Bitman and Reynolds wrote in response.
Diddy remains in federal custody at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey, where he is serving a 50-month sentence after being convicted on two prostitution-related counts. He was acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.