Jay-Z’s lawyers have reportedly asked to withdraw his request to sanction the lawyer behind a lawsuit that accuses him and fellow music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping a 13-year-old girl.
Last month, the “99 Problems” star asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Tony Buzzbee, accusing him of making multiple inaccuracies in the complaint and of failing to investigate the allegations before filing.
Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, was accused in the lawsuit – that initially just named Combs – of raping the unnamed girl at a party after the MTV Music Awards in 2000. Both Jay-Z and Combs have vehemently denied the allegations.
Deadline now reports a “surprise” development to request the withdrawal of the motions for sanctions without prejudice.
“We have discussed this matter with counsel for Plaintiff who consents to this submission and agrees the withdrawal is without prejudice,” a brief letter to Judge Analisa Torres from Alex Spiro, Jay-Z’s longtime lawyer, said.
Buzzbee is representing dozens of clients in civil cases against Combs that accuse him of rape, battery and abuse in alleged incidents taking place over several decades.
On 8 January, Spiro asked Torres to punish Buzzbee for what he said were inaccuracies that cast “considerable doubt” on the allegations against Jay-Z by imposing a monetary sanction, such as forcing him to cover the rapper’s legal fees.
In an email to Reuters at the time, Buzzbee said the filing “reeks of desperation” and accused Spiro and his team of attempting to “bully or intimidate counsel by filing meritless and frivolous pleadings full of lies and half-truths”.
Spiro’s team and Buzzbee have been embroiled in a series of back-and-forths that led to Torres issuing a reprimand for what she described as “inflammatory language” used against the plaintiff’s lawyer.
She said that in the space of a few weeks, Spiro had submitted a “litany of letters and motions attempting to impugn the character of Plaintiff's lawyer, many of them expounding on the purported ‘urgency’ of this case.”
Referring to Jay-Z by his legal last name, the judge added: “Carter’s lawyer’s relentless filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks is inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources, and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client. The Court will not fast-track the judicial process merely because counsel demands it.”
Jay-Z’s latest move comes after Combs was hit with a further two lawsuits by women accusing him of orchestrating their sexual assaults at Donald Trump’s Midtown Manhattan hotel.
The two accusers, identified as “Jane Does” in court papers filed on Tuesday (4 February), claim they were drugged and forced to participate in group sex while Combs watched.
Combs’ attorneys denied both women’s claims, issuing a statement that said: “As we’ve said before, Mr. Combs cannot respond to every new publicity stunt, even in response to claims that are facially ridiculous or demonstrably false.
“Mr Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone – man or woman, adult or minor.”
