Sean “Diddy” Combs scored a courtroom victory after a federal judge ruled that attorney Ariel Mitchell must continue defending herself against his defamation lawsuit.
Judge John Cronan rejected Mitchell’s bid to throw out the case, allowing Diddy’s claims over a string of televised allegations to move forward, per AllHipHop.
The lawsuit centers on statements tied to Courtney Burgess, who allegedly claimed he had 11 flash drives containing videos of Diddy sexually assaulting celebrities and minors. Diddy says Mitchell vouched for those claims and made additional statements involving an alleged police report, secret recordings and drug-laced baby oil.
Cronan said some of those accusations could be tested as true or false.
“Whether a particular police report corroborates an allegation of rape and whether a particular sex tape exists are clearly questions of fact that are ‘capable of being proven false,’” he wrote.
The judge also said repeating someone else’s accusation does not automatically shield a person from defamation liability.
Diddy initially sought $50 million, then increased his demand to at least $100 million in an amended complaint.
NewsNation parent Nexstar Media Inc. had several claims dismissed, though one claim involving the baby-oil allegation remains.
Burgess is already in default after failing to respond.
Diddy is serving a 50-month sentence following his conviction on two transportation-to-engage-in-prostitution counts.
