- Sean 'Diddy' Combs loses $100m lawsuit over alleged sexual assault
- Accuser claims Combs drugged and assaulted him at 1997 Detroit party
- Combs' team disputes ruling, citing improper service of legal notice
Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, a 51-year-old convicted felon, has been awarded $100 million (£76.6 million) in a default judgment against American rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs after the rapper failed to respond to the lawsuit.
Cardello-Smith alleges that Combs drugged and sexually assaulted him at a party in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. Combs’s legal team has denied the accusations, describing them as false.
According to a local newspaper, Cardello-Smith, who is currently serving a prison sentence, has a history of filing civil lawsuits. Combs’s attorneys have accused Cardello-Smith of committing “fraud on the court” and stated their intention to challenge the ruling. They told the BBC that Combs had not been properly served notice of the lawsuit and are seeking to overturn the judgment issued on Monday by Judge Anna Marie Anzalone of the Lenawee County Circuit Court.
Cardello-Smith’s lawsuit was heard in a September 9th court session that Combs did not attend. The default judgment was granted in Cardello-Smith’s favor after Combs failed to appear. The Detroit Metro Times reports that Cardello-Smith had previously encountered Combs while working in Detroit’s restaurant and hospitality sector in the 1990s. Cardello-Smith also claimed that Combs recently offered him $2.3 million to withdraw the lawsuit, an offer he rejected. He further alleged ongoing interactions with Combs, presenting documents showing Combs’s name in a prison visitation log.
In response, Combs’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, refuted the claim that Combs had ever known Cardello-Smith, calling the allegations baseless.
Cardello-Smith is serving time for unrelated charges of sexual misconduct and kidnapping. The Detroit Metro Times notes that he has taught himself criminal and civil law during his incarceration and has developed a pattern of challenging the judicial system through numerous lawsuits.
The lawsuit against Combs is part of a broader set of sexual assault allegations facing the rapper, a prominent figure in the rap music industry. Earlier this year, Combs settled a case with his long-time partner, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, who had accused him of sexual and physical abuse. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Additionally, Combs faced scrutiny after CCTV footage from 2016 surfaced in May, appearing to show him assaulting Ventura in a hotel hallway. In March, federal agents raided two of Combs’s properties as part of an ongoing investigation into sex trafficking. Combs’s legal team labeled the raid an “unprecedented ambush” and maintained his client’s innocence.
