A judge ruled on Thursday that a woman hailing from Alabama that claims she was raped by legendary rap artists Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs when she was only 13-years-old will be allowed to proceed through her lawsuit anonymously, at least for the time being. Judge Analisa Torres stated in her latest written order, which dropped the hammer on an attorney representing Jay-z for combative motions and “inflammatory language” against the plaintiff’s lawyer that the behavior was uncalled for and inappropriate.
via Breitbart:
The Manhattan jurist said the woman can proceed anonymously at this early stage of the litigation, but she may be required to reveal her identity at a later date, if the case proceeds. That would allow defense lawyers to collect facts necessary to prepare for trial. Torres also cited “substantial interest” from the public. The lawsuits allege many individuals were abused at parties in New York, California and Florida after receiving drug-laced drinks.
Combs’ lawyers have dismissed Buzbee’s lawsuits as “shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs.” Jay-Z has said in a statement that Buzbee is trying to blackmail him to settle the Alabama woman’s allegations. Buzbee said in an email that his firm does not comment on court rulings. In her lawsuit, the woman who says she was raped at 13 identifies herself as “Jane Doe.” She said she was living in Rochester in 2000 when she made her way to New York City and befriended a limousine driver who drove her to an after-party for the MTV Music Awards, where she says she was eventually attacked by Jay-Z and Combs.
Jay-Z’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, has requested the judge remove him from the lawsuit and has also asked for a hearing on the case for the day after he made his requests in writing on Dec. 18.
Citing an interview the plaintiff did on NBC-TV, Spiro wrote that the broadcast revealed “glaring inconsistencies and outright impossibilities” in the plaintiff’s story. For one thing, the woman said she traveled for five hours from Rochester to watch the music awards show on a jumbotron outside the VMA even though permits and pictures show there was no jumbotron at the event.
The rapper’s attorney then pointed out that the woman’s father does not remember making the drive from Rochester to New York City to pick up his daughter as she claims he did. The woman herself has even confessed to their being inconsistencies in her story.
Torres stated in the order on Thursday that Spiro, who has only been on the case for a total of three weeks, has turned in 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.”
The judge then stated in the order, “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.”
Carter is Jay-Z’s last name.
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